The Business of Revenge
by Andorian Ice Princess-AIP
Summary: SQL to Vengeance – Harvey Micks is not a man to suffer lightly as both Ed and Sam come to realize when Micks has them both kidnapped and revenge soon become the main business of the day. Will Team One get to them in time? Whump/peril Chapter 5 Up Now
1. Your Place or Mine?

**Title: The Business of Revenge  
****Chapter 1 – Your Place or Mine?**

**Summary:** SQL to Vengeance – Harvey Micks is not a man to suffer lightly as both Ed and Sam come to realize when Micks puts out a hit on both and revenge soon become the main business of the day.

**Disclaimer: ** If I owned anything to do with FP Ed would be all mine! Hehe *alas* I own only my DVD's that fuel my imaginative muse Alice.

**A/N:** Well I promised a sequel and here it is! Okay so this is gonna take place about a month after 'Slow Burn' in the series – not sure how long after 'Wild Card' that was but this way Sam and Jules relationship is established and in the open; hope that's okay and you enjoy this little action packed (ie. Whump/peril/tension packed) ficlet hehe

* * *

Harvey Micks…it was a name that Ed wasn't going to easily forget if ever. His eyes narrow as he watches the news in the team one meeting room early Monday morning. There had been a murder speculated to be tied to the notorious gangster but as of yet nothing solid to get a real arrest warrant or find and keep a witness alive long enough to actually make him contemplate real jail time.

"Micks again?" Sam asks as he walks up to Ed, coffee in hand and watches the tail end of the news update.

"Someone needs to get something solid on that guy and really make it stick."

"Wordy have any dealings with him?" Sam wonders.

"A few in the past month but this wasn't his team. And for that I am glad," Ed mutters somewhat under his breath, drawing a small smile from his team mates face. Ed's comments about concern for his best friend weren't really surprising to anyone on the team; Ed more than open about the fact that Wordy was still on top of his game and that if he ever wanted to come back to the SRU, team one would welcome him open arms.

"And how have you two been balancing everything?" Ed turns to Sam and gently questions. Sam and Jules had both been given the okay to stay on team one as their track record of open professionalism had attested to the fact they could be romantically involved and still the uphold priority of life mandate. But deep inside Ed also knows that Sam wants to lead a team of his own; he's a born leader that even a blind person could sense. That thought makes Ed proud and morose at the same time; Sam would be a valuable leader to any team but also a valuable asset to lose. However that suggestion hadn't been put forth yet by Sam, so for the time being Ed was going to focus on the continued growth of his team and cross that gap when he came to it.

"It's a work in progress," Sam replies candidly. "At least Sophie can't pick apart a mistake made on a call."

"You sure about that?" Ed retorts with arched brows. "Women have a way of seeing the best and worst when we only want to see the best."

"Yeah…that's true," Sam sighs with as another picture of Micks flashes on the screen. "So they ID'd his business partner? Who'd go into business with Harvey Micks and then openly double cross him?"

"A fool," Ed nods as they both watch the live coverage a body being pulled out of the river and then quickly covered with a tarp. "The less calls of his we hafta handle the better," Ed sighs as he finishes his coffee.

"Sophie ever talk about you going up against Micks or guys like him?"

"When I tell her?" Ed slightly smirks. "Course she worries…I do too," Ed states candidly as he tosses his cup into the garbage and then looks at Sam with a serious expression. "Wordy told me all the chatter after we busted up that casino. We took out a real money maker for him."

"Yeah and we…as in us…not just any police team," Sam frowns. "A real reason to watch our backs still."

"And that's changed since?" Ed asks rhetorically as Sam replies with a knowing nod. "Come on…we have about half hour to wear that coffee off."

The two of them head for the gym, however, their good intentions for working out are short lived as Greg calls Ed for something and Spike asks Sam for his help with something else. The rest of the team soon arrives and it's time to get their week started with a team briefing and then into the field for a day of routine patrolling. By the end of the first day, Ed heads into the locker room, wanting nothing more than to head home and just relax and enjoy a home cooked meal; his brain begging for a bit extra sleep as well.

He eyes Sam in the corner, looking at something on his phone and then grinning from ear to ear. "Good news I take it?"

"I just got a text that there still some tickets available for this indie rock group this weekend; we both like the music and I was hoping there was tickets left."

"Indie rock?"

"Blame Jules…it's her thing," Sam smirks as he texts back to his friend that he'll take two tickets. "You?"

"Classic rock all the way."

"Sinatra?" Sam teases, earning a small head shake from Ed as he grabs his coat and mutters under his breath about young people before tossing a wadded up ball-cap at him, Sam easily ducking and laughing as well. The two of them say their goodnights, Sam going in search of Jules to tell her the good news about the concert and Ed heading for the parking lot and then home. The new blurbs just before the traffic updates were all focused on the latest Micks happenings and Ed can't help but wonder just what kind of revenge the sinister crime lord would be plotting in the way of retribution against the associates of the man that double crossed him; the man?…the corpse…they pulled out of the river earlier in the day.

As Ed turns down another street to head for home, his anxiety starts to build as he glances into the rear view mirror to change lanes and notices the same car that had so far stuck with him for several turns. Deciding against turning down a road that would take him closer to home, Ed opts to head a few more blocks up, wondering if the person was indeed a tail or if it was just his tired mind working harder than it should. The latter turns out to be right as the car turns off and heads into another street, a dead end cul-de-sac; allowing Ed to turn two blocks up and then meander back to his original course.

Ed enters his home and heads for the kitchen, greeting his family and then taking his baby girl into his arms and holding her as he fills in his wife about his rather boring day; happy to be away from the frantic pace of the downtown core. Sophie of course asks him about the body being found and if there had been any backlash against the police; his honest answer appeasing her worried mind, but never her heart. It was something she worried about on a daily basis.

In truth he can't blame his wife, Ed knows inside he worries to about what Harvey Micks is up to and who outside of his own kind was a target. After the run in him and Sam had a month ago with Micks men for the incident at the casino he had come to watch his back a bit more closely, not to park his car near the opening of a dark alley or take extra liberties with himself or the team on or off the job. Micks wasn't a fool to suffer lightly and cops were even bigger targets at times than his own kind. After supper is over, Ed flips off the TV and goes in search of his son, wanting to fill his mind with happier thoughts than Harvey Micks before calling it a day.

XXXXXXXX

Ed enters the SRU the next morning, feeling not as well rested as he had wanted; Izzy was starting to teethe and she was voicing her displeasure to all around her.

"Eddie," Greg greets Ed with a concerned gaze. "I know you said no more early morning workouts but you look…"

"Half asleep," Ed groans as he rubs his weary face. "Izzy's teething. Damn…and nothing worked last night."

"Ah fun times," Greg lightly slaps Ed on the back, earning a small growl in return from his team lead and chucking as Ed pulls open his locker door. "Sam here yet? He asked me to run some extra leadership scenarios with him."

"Just got a text…apparently Jules Jeep had a flat this morning. They're on their way in now."

"A flat. That sucks," Raf pipes up as Ed looks at Greg with a growing frown.

"What?" Greg asks in haste.

"Nothin'…" Ed turns back to his locker. A flat. Everyone got them. Jules had said her neighbours were doing some construction on their new garage extension so she had probably run over a nail the night before and it had the duration of the entire night to run its course and expel its air; resulting in them being late.

Still feeling somewhat irritable, Ed takes advantage of Sam and Jules tardiness to quickly change into a pair of shorts and a tee and climb onto the bike, giving himself an early morning adrenaline jolt and expel any lingering anxiety, before changing into his SRU gear and heading for the team one meeting room where Sam and Jules had just entered.

"So what was the cause?"

"Nail," Sam huffs. "Although I don't remember taking that path the night before. Unless one got into our driveway…" he shrugs. "But the spare was…" he stops and looks at Jules who gives him a small warning glare. "It's fixed now," he smirks as Greg enters.

"Ah all of team one has finally joined us," Greg looks at his team before sitting down. "Now we all know the heat coming down from the death to one of Harvey Micks top associates yesterday."

"Word on the street is he tried to double cross Micks and in turn was also betrayed by his own right hand who was a guns and gangs insider," Raf informs them.

"That'll keep Wordy busy," Ed sighs, drawing a small look from the rest of the team. "Boss does this mean…"

"Just a heads up Eddie," Greg quickly assures the rest of them. "Micks doesn't want a public shootout with the police that'll land his head in a noose. His problems are internal and he'll want to keep them that way. Okay so ba…" is all Greg manages before Winnie's voice comes over the loud speaker with all too familiar _'team one hot call' _announcement; sending team one hurrying for their gear and straight into the field.

"Spike do we have an address?" Ed asks as they approach their intended destination.

_"Yeah and we better be careful."_

_"It's Harvey Micks?" Sam inquires with a groan. "Do we call for back up now?"_

"Let's see what we are dealing with first. But that just means we gotta keep on extra alert," Greg tells the team before he looks over at Ed at the wheel, noticing his fingers tighten around the black steering wheel. "Eddie?"

"Micks will be breathing retribution after yesterday morning boss. If one of his guys doubled crossed him and now another has gotten himself in a showdown with the cops…" Ed's voice trails off as they near their destination and he brings the SUV to a sudden halt. "He's gonna want blood."

"Cops blood?" Greg counters.

"Blood is blood. Harvey Micks is in the business of revenge. I'm just sayin…"

"I hear what your sayin'. Okay team, extra vigilant on this one."

"Eddie, according to Spike there are two tactical sierra vantage points. Ed you'll be sierra one but if you can't take the shot Sam will be sierra one. Take the elevator and let us know when you are both in position. Here and here."

"Copy that. Sam…"

"Jules, Raf, I want…" Greg starts as Ed and Sam grab their gear and head for the elevator of the older high rise position to scout out their sierra positions and wait for further orders.

"Damn Micks again," Sam lightly grumbles as they near the tenth floor.

"Yeah but this time we come prepared," Ed nods as he holds up his sniper gear. "'sides I doubt Micks is here right now. More like watching on a TV somewhere, angrily pacing and cursing the fact that in his world good help is hard to find."

"Still don't like going up against him."

"Yeah but at least we were called in to resolve this one," Ed explains. "He can't fault us for one of his goons not using their brain and making a discreet kill."

"Was that rhetorical?" Sam retorts.

"Yeah," Ed lightly grumbles as Sam nods in agreement.

"I mean after the whole casino thing…"

"Sam…I know," Ed interrupts in haste, the tension in his gut starting to mount; a feeling he hated more than anything. But just before another word can be spoken, the steel box they are in comes to a sudden jerking halt, forcing both of them to slightly shift position and grab the rails to keep from stumbling.

"What the hell?" Ed huffs as he looks down at the security panel.

_"Ed? What's going on?" Greg asks in haste._

"Elevator just stopped on the…"

"Thirteenth floor."

_"There is no thirteenth floor in there," Spike adds in haste._

"Okay well then we are between the twelfth and fourteenth floors," Sam replies with a small sarcastic huff. "Spike just get us…"

"Whoa!" Ed exclaims as the steel box suddenly jerks and then drops. "Spike…"

_"Guys I have no…wait…we've got a lurker."_

"Whatever the hell that is get ri…" is all Sam manages before the elevator suddenly starts to plummet toward the lower basement floors.

"FREEFALL!" Ed shouts as he and Sam both crouch on the ground, grabbing onto the rails and bracing for sudden and predictably painful impact.

_"Eddie!" Greg's voice shouts over headset as a shot is fired toward them, forcing Greg to stay put and Jules and Raf to also remain in cover; Ed and Sam on their own._

"Sam…HOLD…ON!" Ed shouts as they near the bottom. But just before they can crash into the guardrails below, the box jerks upward, flattening both SRU team members to the floor, sending their sniper gear flying to the other side and ensuring their landing garnered them some very visible bruises.

_"Eddie! Talk to me…" Greg starts._

_"Guys! The elevator stopped. Are you okay?" Spike asks at the same time._

Silence for a few seconds, gives the rest of Team One pause for concern.

"Boss…" Ed starts with a soft grunt as he opens his eyes and tries to get them to focus. "Sam…"

_"Are you hurt?" Jules asks in immediate concern._

"Sam talk to me…"

"I hate…elevators," Sam huffs as he slowly rolls onto his back and looks over at Ed. "Ed…your lip…"

"Yeah…I know," Ed frowns as he wipes away the smattering of fresh blood, his fingers gingerly inspecting a tender spot on his cheek before rubbing his jaw. "Check your left eye," Ed nods with his head as he uses his right hand to grip one of the side bars and pull himself to a seated position. "Spike…can you open these damn doors?"

_"No…I have no control. Someone has overridden the system. I can see their IP signature and am…"_

"Save the techno babble Spike," Sam lightly growls. "Can you just…get us out?"

_"Hang tight."_

_"Careful Eddie we don't know who we're up against," Greg warns as Ed's right hand pulls his gun. _

As both were going to take sierra positions, the MP5's were left back in the SUV's; the sniper rifles of course working best if mounted on their perch_. _Sam pulls his gun also as he uprights himself and then slowly stands up. He helps Ed get up, noticing a small gasp of pain as Ed tries to put some pressure on his left leg.

"It's nothing," Ed utters in haste as he watches Sam push the open door button. "Just get us outta here."

"I can try the roof hatch," Sam looks up.

"Go," Ed encourages.

But just as Sam climbs onto the side rail and grips the small overhead box, the whole steel box slightly jerks upward, tossing Sam back to the floor and causing both men inside scrambling to hold onto the sides in case the joy ride wasn't over.

"Sam!"

_"Ed...what's going on?"_

"Boss I think someone can hear us," Ed growls angrily as the box settles back down. "WHO THE HELL IS THIS!" Ed shouts as he bangs the doors with the butt end of his gun, earning a small huff from Greg on the other end.

_"Eddie, Spike's working to override whoever has you guys trapped in there but we're pinned up here."_

Ed pulls his phone, gesturing for Sam to move in as he texts Greg instead.

_'Diversion?'_

_"Yeah that's what it seems to be. Doesn't make sense. If it is Micks then why not just take out the team when we weren't together? Why all the call and the standoff?"_

_'He wants me and Sam for the casino thing?' Ed texts._

"After all this time?" Sam counters out loud, earning a small warning look from Ed.

_"It's only a theory. Just watch yourselves until we get control of the box once more."_

"I guess we wait," Ed shrugs as he tries to pry the door open once more. A few moments later the doors make a small hissing noise, drawing both glances toward it instantaneously. Sam's hand shoots out in hopes of wedging his fingers between and prying it open but just before the door can slam shut on his fingers, Ed's hand grabs a handful of Sam's black shirt and pulls his hand back just as the doors hiss shut.

"What the hell!" Sam curses as he looks at Ed with a scowl.

_"Sam?" Jules voice is heard seconds later._

_"What's going on guys?" Greg wonders in concern._

"Boss these guys are toying with us. Spike…"

_'Working on it,' Spike's text comes across Ed's phone screen._

"I hate this," Sam states in anger as he slams his fist on the closed steel door, the temperature starting to rise as the oxygen was slowly dissipating; the person toying with them wanting to make them sluggish and not as alert or ready to fight back. They both lean against the wall at the back of the elevator waiting for Spike to come to their rescue; the standoff at the surface above seeming to take longer than expected.

"Sam I think that…" Ed starts a few minutes later only to instantly stop as the doors once again tease them with an opening motion. "Watch it."

_"Eddie?"_

"Door's opening again boss. Is that you Spike?"

_"Not yet."_

"Then we're not falling for it," Ed replies as he pulls his gun and readies it, Sam instantly following suit. The doors slowly open a bit more, offering them a full one foot viewing space before them.

"Ed!" Sam hisses as they both stare a head in shock.

"What the hell is going on?" Ed growls.

_"What's going on Eddie?" Greg's anxious voice is heard._

"Hold on…" Ed answers as he takes a picture of the one word scrawled in red on the wall before them.

_"Scorpio," Greg reads the word on the text Ed just sent him, Ed's ears picking up another curse from both Raf and Jules._

_"What's going on? Who's doing this?"_

_"Harvey Micks," Spike answers in haste._

_"Spike you sure about that?"_

_"Yeah. I traced the signature back to where I think the signal is coming from. Sending uni's there now, but I doubt they'll find anything. More than likely this guy is using a router. It's another Micks safe house."_

_"Eddie, what's your plan?"_

Ed looks at the word Scorpio and then at Sam before he takes a step forward and the door starts to close. "Damn bastard is toying with us," Ed growls as his fist hits the side of the elevator box. The opening was just enough to tease them with escape but not enough to dart through without making some effort and if the doors started to close and they couldn't pry them open, one of them would be crushed while the other helplessly watches.

"I can make it," Sam whispers to Ed as the door remains ajar about a foot.

"No."

"Ed…"

"No," Ed shakes his head before his hits the side of the elevator again; not wanting to have Sam risk his life if Spike was close to giving them their walking papers unhindered.

_"Spike…"_

_"Okay hold on guys."_

_"No Spike did you hear that?" Greg wonders._

"Boss? What's going on?"

_"I heard that just now. A clicking sound," Raf mentions._

_"I think someone's on this channel also. Radio silence now," Spike orders and in seconds the headsets are quiet; the elevator doors instantly slamming shut._

_'Almost there guys. Spike'_

Ed starts to slowly pace for a few moments, pausing to look at Sam and gesturing to the fresh smattering of blood that was once again starting to seep from the wound above his eye. "You okay?"

"Yeah it's getting stuffier in here," Sam notes as they both look up to see the steel box has no vents, only the four corners of the overhead hatch box.

"I know. Sniper breathing."

"Copy."

Finally after what seems like the longest wait in history Ed's phone buzzes to life, his fingers instantly reaching for it and both him and Sam breathing a much needed sigh of relief.

_'Guys I got it. Freedom in 60 seconds. Spike.'_

XXXXXXXX

"Raf do you have a visual?" Greg asks after they had switched to another channel only the four of them could talk on; Ed and Sam having to wait to be told via text that real help was on the way.

_"Yeah boss I do. There's one guy but…damn you are not gonna believe this," Raf groans._

"Try me," Greg huffs as he glances back to the command truck were Spike was working away to get Ed and Sam free; rescue was imminent.

_"The other two in there with him…are dummies."_

"You've got to be kidding me," Greg growls as he shakes his head. "Jules."

_"I'm gonna go in through a small door on the north. Raf I should come up on your right. Distract him long enough…"_

_"And you'll take him out. Copy that," Raf's smooth tone is heard before the plan is put into motion. _

_"Boss I think I have blocked out the hacker and regained control of the elevator. Ed and Sam should be on their way up on about one minute."_

"Copy that Spike. Raf, Jules…"

_"Almost there boss," Jules soft whisper is heard. "Raf…"_

_"Anytime come on out."_

Greg hears the shouting as he hurries toward them, a single shot being fired, a few more loud shots followed by some heavy cursing and then another single shot followed by an angry curse. He rounds the corner to see Raf standing over the body, Jules a few feet away and the lone gunman's body on the ground just after the self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

"After all that…he merely grabbed the gun, fired at Jules and then…killed himself," Raf informs Greg with a heavy frown. "None of this made sense."

"Where are Sam and Ed?" Jules asks in haste.

"Spike's bringing them up now."

"Why keep them outta the game for a suicide?" Raf inquires as Greg merely shrugs.

"Let's regroup and figure out what just happened here."

_"Boss the elevator should be at the top now. I'll meet you there."_

"Well that guy is going nowhere," Raf comments as they leave the dead body in the place it had fallen and head for the elevator where Ed and Sam should be emerging anytime soon.

"Eyes open guys. Someone could still be watching and we don't know what the real game is here," Greg reminds his team as they near the elevator just as it reaches the main floor and stops. The doors slowly hiss open, revealing what's inside.

Nothing.

"What the hell?" Raf looks at Greg in shock.

"Boss…where are they?" Spike asks in dread as Jules carefully retrieves a single folded up piece of paper and slowly opens it for the four of them to read.

"Oh no," Jules whispers in horror.

_**'scorpio.'**_

* * *

**A/N:** duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhhh okay oops! So how did you all like this start? Wanna know where our boys are? Hope you do and if so please review before you go and thanks so much!


	2. House of Horrors!

**Title: The Business of Revenge  
****Chapter 2 – House of Horrors**

* * *

"Finally," Sam utters as the doors slowly start to slide open before them.

As soon as they had gotten the text from Spike that the doors were about to open, Ed and Sam pick themselves up off the floor, wanting nothing more than to rid themselves of the stuffy steel box and get some answers to all the games. What they didn't know was Spike wasn't sending the message and wasn't in control of the elevator. With their guns ready they prepare to exit, anxious to rejoin the team and get some answers to this bizarre situation.

But time wasn't to be wasted in kidnapping the two elite snipers, within seconds as soon as they both emerge from the between the doors, Ed first and Sam, Ed feels a ping in his neck, his fingers instantly reaching up and feeling the tranq dart, his body instantly sagging into Sam's grasp.

"Sam…" Ed whispers in horror as the fast acting drugs cause his knees to buckle.

"Ed…" Sam utters as struggles to hold Ed, twisting his head to see a man watching him with a raised weapon, seconds before its fired. "You son of a b…" is all the angry curse Sam's allowed before he too is shot with the dart and his body falls unceremoniously onto Ed's; four large men emerging from the exit doors and heading toward the two fallen SRU officers.

Leaving behind their vests, headsets, phones, guns and ID's; Ed and Sam are bodily removed from the floor and carried toward a waiting van disguised as a utility truck; deposited in the back where both are bound and gagged and then driven away.

XXXXXXXX

"Okay I don't like this…this guy's calling all the shots here and now two of our own are missing," Raf pipes up as he looks back at the empty elevator box. "They'd have been up here by now if they could."

"Raf you and Jules take the stairs and head down to the basement and see what you find. Report back no matter what you find, even something small might help," Greg instructs as he walks back to the dead body, Spike back in the command truck trying to see if he could track down the mystery hacker.

_"Boss?" Spike's ears pick up Greg's small smirk over the headset a few minutes later. "Everything okay?"_

"Half expected the body to be missing but…wait...hold on," Greg pauses, making even Raf and Jules pause in the stairwell.

_"What's going on?" Jules inquires._

"Raf where did you say this guy shot himself?"

_"Right side of the temple just above the ear."_

"You sure…course you're sure," Greg ponders and then stops. "Guys I think this guy was shot sniper style. I see another small hole just above the other nestled in his hair surrounded by blood," Greg continues as he reaches for the gun and then pulls the clip. "Blanks."

_"What?" Raf looks at Jules just as they near the basement door. _

"The gun he supposedly shot himself is full of blanks," Greg groans before cursing.

_"What the hell's going on?" Raf mutters next._

_"Boss we're at the basement and entering," Jules informs them. _Raf pulls the door open and both of them raise their MP5's as they are greeted with the word 'scorpio' and eerie silence.

"I hate this," Raf whispers as they step into the dingy hallway back to back, Jules facing one way and Raf facing the closed elevator doors; the elevator of course up top – empty and held open by Spike. "Quiet."

"Too quiet," Jules adds as she looks around nervously, her mind wondering where Sam and Ed were.

"Nothin' here boss but a pile of their stuff," Raf huffs. "They wouldn't leave any of this stuff behind willingly."

_"Spike get on the traffic monitors…we hafta get something to go on. They didn't leave on their own," Greg continues as he calls for backup from team four that was on duty that day also and not out on a call. _

"Where the hell did they go?" Jules mutters in anger.

"I don't know but you can be sure wherever it is…Harvey Micks ain't treating them to afternoon tea," Raf states in quiet sarcasm as he glances at the pile of personal effects waiting for them to find.

XXXXXXXX

A faint feeling of throbbing starts to greet Sam as he's slowly pulled back from his tormented nightmare. His mind flashes images of them being in the elevator, seeing the word Scorpio, exiting the elevator, Ed being hit with a dart and then his turn and then darkness. The faint feeling starts to gain strength to a loud pulsing, as his hazy brain forces his eyes to open.

But as soon as he does, all he sees is darkness. Thick, heavy darkness. His first impulse is to try to pull down any kind of blindfold that might be purposely keeping the light out – that wasn't to be. His body is remiss to obey any mental commands and remains in place. He feels himself seated on something hard and plastic, the shape is familiar but his brain at the moment fails as to correctly identify it. His arms are stretched out at the sides and his wrists fastened down with rope so he is unable to move his arms and free himself. His feet are bound with rope and then tethered to something on the floor of whatever he was in so he was unable to move his feet upward. A thick cloth between his lips, keeps him from calling out.

_What the hell? _Sam growls as he tries in vain to pull himself free, his wrists and arms straining against the tight bonds. Had he been awake he might have been able to flex his limbs so that when they slackened after being bound there might be some give; now there wasn't much to work with.

_HELLO! ED! SOMEONE HELP ME! _Sam tries in vain; his throat coughing as a few dry vapors enter between the cracks of the gag and force his lungs to constrict. He pulls again on his bound wrists, not caring about the chafing of the skin, just wanting to get free and find Ed and get back to the barn – alive. The thick darkness starts to close in around him, small scuffing noises, playing upon his fears and forcing certain issues from the past to be brought back to the fore.

_Where's Ed? _He strains his ears to listen but hears nothing to suggest his captive team leader was anywhere nearby. _ED! _Sam tries again, hoping that even his soft whimpers will be heard by his missing friend and garner him the knowledge that Ed was at least close by. Silence. _Damn it! _Sam inwardly curses as he pushes past the notion of trying to listen for Ed; reasoning that he was either tied up like him and still drugged, or being held captive somewhere else. It was time to try to escape.

_This can't be…what the hell is going on? _Sam's mind grumbles as he tries to yank himself free, pulling at the ropes in futility. But before hope is altogether lost, he finally feels a bit of wiggle room around his left thumb, remembering cursing the broken digit as a child but now thankful for the fact that it could bend in an odd direction without causing to much discomfort. The pain, however, he'd push aside in exchange for his freedom and the knowledge of Ed's whereabouts.

But just as Sam's about to start operation wiggle and get his finger through the ropes in hopes of getting his left hand free, a low mocking laughter stops him cold, his actions halting and his eyes fruitlessly darting around for the source of his current misery.

_WHO'S THERE! _Sam yells in frustration; only muffled sounds escaping the thick gag.

"Welcome Constable Braddock," the voice Sam unmistakably identifies as Harvey Micks.

_Come out and face me you coward! _Sam's mind growls in anger.

"I hope you are enjoying my hospitability. I try to accommodate my guests as much as I can. You and your friend however are special guests so I went the extra mile and I hope you appreciate it."

_Yeah come here and I'll show you how much I appreciate it! Is this guy for real? _Sam's mind groans as he tries to pinpoint the location of the voice, finally discerning that it was coming from an overhead speaker system; Harvey Micks might not even be close by. As they had learned at the casino, Micks was famous for having eyes in places most people couldn't detect until the last minute and by then it was usually too late – for them.

"I lost a lot of money because of you two when my casino was closed down," Micks voice turns a bit more serious. "I figured that since you two were so accommodating to me I'd return the favor to the SRU. Think they can function with two of their top men out of commission? _For good_?"

Micks punctuates the end of his sentence with another bout of mocking laughter, Sam gritting his teeth and feeling his fists tighten as he tries in vain to yank his arms free.

"Studied your team for a few weeks and learned a thing or two. So trust me when I say your pal Spike won't find the two of you in time…your bodies being pulled from the nasty wreckage is the headlines I'll enjoy the most. So time to light up the place…and kinda like a casino this one also hedges on bets, for your life."

And before Sam's brain can really contemplate what that means, the area is flooded with bright lights, pointing directly at him, bathing him intense bright fluorescent and forcing his eyes to instantly shut and remain closed for a few seconds. Opening them only serves to blind him once more, making is head swivel to the right or left in search of a dark reprieve – none is to be found. However, just as he readies his thumb back into position, a loud noise is heard and the rest of the area around him is finally illuminated. He was bound into the seat of a circus ride.

"Tell me Constable Braddock, didn't you enjoy the rides at the fair as a young boy? Oh that's right...military brat. Bet you didn't have time for any of that. Well allow me the pleasure of treating you to your first…and last ride. Its one called hell on earth. Enclosed so we don't have to worry about anyone outside seeing you until I want them to."

_What the hell? You've got to be kidding! _Sam's mind yells as he frantically studies the area around him. He tries to squint into the darkness ahead and figure out just what was in store, his mind now fully convinced that Harvey Micks was beyond sick and twisted.

"Oh and if you're worried about your buddy Constable Ed Lane…I'd be more worried about your own predicament. Enjoy the ride…the one way ride. Time for me to go and send Constable Lane on his way to hell. Goodbye Braddock."

_ED!_ Sam's mind yells as the car pitches forward and starts to move; the ending a dark, pointed chasm. _This…this can't be happening! _

XXXXXXXX

About the same time Sam had started to come to, Ed's mind was finally starting to pull his body from his drugged stupor; his body slow to respond and his mind flashing him the same images Sam's did. Them existing the elevators, being hit by the dart, falling into Sam's arms and then…darkness.

_Where…am I_? Ed's mind reels as he tries to sit up. He quickly discerns something is wrong when he finds he's unable to sit up; in fact it wasn't able to move at all. His body, he discerns, is stretched into a painful X – his arms and legs fastened tightly away from his body and a thick cloth between his teeth to keep him from calling out for help.

_SAM! _Ed tries, soft whimpers escaping the thick padding stuffing his mouth. The area surrounding him was heavy with darkness, but cool and damp smelling. _Where the hell am I_? Ed silently growls as he tries again to pull himself free. The metal shackles keeping his arms and legs tightly bound have no give and there is no way his large hand will be able to maneuver itself out of the shackles unhindered – he was effectively captured.

He tries to slow his breathing, trying to calm his heart so that at least the pounding in his ears would stop long enough for him to at least hear if Sam was close by and in the same dire predicament as him.

_SAM! _Ed tries once more, his body straining against his tight bonds and his mind racing with scenarios as to what Micks has in mind for restraining him this way. Ed tries to arch his body upward, wanting to see just how much slack his captor had given his frame; there is none. His arms move maybe an inch upward, his legs only able to flex somewhat at the knees, the rest of his frame unable to get any kind of give in order to maybe pull one of the metal restraints from their current resting place.

_Where the hell's Sam! _Ed's mind ponders as he hears a faint noise and then quickly stops his movements to see if he could pick up another sound similar to the ones his trapped wrists are making. Silence again. _HELP ME! _Ed tries to call out, trying desperately to rattle the shackles in the hopes of making some noise and attracting attention. The ploy works. However, the attention he receives isn't the help he wants.

"Hello Constable Lane," a low mocking tone fills the dark chasm that surrounds Ed's captive frame. "Welcome to my funhouse."

_Funhouse? What the hell does that mean? _Ed's mind fumes as he once again tries in vain to pull himself free of his tight restraints, the small rattles, eliciting another taunting laugh and forcing Ed's face to flush with anger and he teeth to grit.

"As I told Constable Braddock just before I put him on his one way ride to hell, that you two have caused me a sizable drop in income, something I don't like to part with."

_Yeah my heart bleeds you bastard! Let me go! _Ed growls as he once again tries in vain to free himself of his current nightmarish predicament.

"But you two will be reunited in hell sooner rather than later. Let me shed some light on the matter."

Not having time to brace himself for the onslaught of the bright lights, Ed's eyes instantly squeeze shut as he's bathed with harsh fluorescent lighting shining directly down on his captive frame. Ed turns his head to the right, hoping to block out the pulsing beams which his captor leaves beating down on him for a few more moments before the blinding one overhead is turned off, the rest of the room remaining illuminated.

Ed's eyes study the area to his right. Rows of seating making his face frown at first; his head lifting slightly to survey what he was on and the rest of the room he was prisoner in. He quickly realizes he is strapped down to a table in the middle of what appears to be a spectator ring. _What the hell is this? Where am I? Fun house…oh wait…no…no this can't be. _Ed's mind growls as he hears another odd noise that forces his head to instantly twist upward, his eyes squinting into the darkened area overhead.

"You know in studying your team I learned that you always try to be in two places at once. Well Constable Lane, I'm going to grant you your wish – literally."

A small whirring sound is heard followed by a distinct 'click' and Ed's stomach instantly heaves; his heart rate soaring.

_Oh damn…this can't be…is this for REAL? _Ed's mind yells as he watches what appears to be a large overhead pendulum with a sharp blade on the end, swing out to the right, catch the light and then swing back to the left. _This can't…be happening…oh god this can't be happening…_his mind races with terror at the thought of being sawn in half; his body trying to buckle against the tight restraints, his ears picking up merciless laughter over the loud speaker.

"I must leave you now Constable Lane…time to see how Constable Braddock's enjoying his one way journey to hell. I'd say parting is sweet sorrow but I think I'll be a bit more painful than that – at least for you."

_SAM! _Ed's mind yells as his ears try to block out the 'swooshing' sounds overhead. _SOMEONE…HELP ME! _Ed yells once more, nothing escaping the thick gag between his teeth.

XXXXXXXX

"Spike they couldn't have just disappeared!" Greg groans as he looks at the traffic cameras on the monitors before them in the command truck; team four now in charge of the building lockdown and looking for extra clues in the surrounding area; everyone on deck to find the two missing Team One SRU snipers.

"Boss I'm telling you. See this utility truck exits here. I can follow it to here…and then it rejoins a whole bunch of…"

"Trucks with the same company three of which have the same license plate numbers," Jules concludes.

"I can follow the group of trucks here…then they all enter the company yard," Spike continues.

"No way they wouldn't arouse suspicion with two kidnapped cops inside," Raf mentions. "Unless they just left them in the van?"

"Kidnap them and then leave them in the van?" Jules counters as Raf shrugs.

"Any chance Harvey Micks has interest in that company?" Greg inquires.

"Actually…he does," Spike replies with a glum tone. "So after a time lapse of about twenty minutes, two other vans exit the yard. Both were pulled over by the locals and…"

"None of them had our boys inside," Greg huffs as he rubs his weary face. "I state again, they couldn't have just disappeared. We are missing something."

"Who else exits the yard?" Raf asks.

"A few workers and…oh damn," Spike curses softly, drawing three pairs of eyes on him. "I never thought to have them stopped or checked because they were just lone guys in small cars."

"But if they were out of camera then maybe each took a drugged SRU officer in their trunk, exited different times and were told to meet…somewhere," Jules ponders.

"I'm on it," Spike states without waiting for further instruction. It had already been about two hours since the elevator box came up empty; worry and fear growing with each minute that Ed and Sam were unaccounted for; knowing Micks penchant for cruel revenge. This would now set them back, but they weren't about to give up on their friends; not with the knowledge that lives were at stake.

"Eddie and Sam are strong and have excellent training…they'll be okay," Greg tries to assure the team just as his headset cracks to life.

_"Greg, we've swept this entire area for about three block radius," Troy informs them. "Nothing here to indicate two cops were kidnapped much less they are around here. Sorry."_

"Thanks Troy. Hang tight for a few, I might have a few personnel from TO Utility to check out."

_"Copy."_

"They hafta be okay," Jules whispers as she looks at Greg with small but intense frown.

"They will be…we just all hafta believe that. Am sure wherever Micks has them they are working together on either a plan of escape or survival or both."

"Let's hope both," Raf comments. "Because, Micks isn't a man to piss off and when you do…you pay the ultimate price, in often quick but painful ways."

XXXXXXXX

Knowing that he's not about to be just an idle passenger on the ride to imminent death, as soon as the ride starts, Sam's body starts to instantly buckle; his arms and legs both pulling at the same time until he forces himself into solider mode, forcing his mind to clear and focus. _Left hand…thumb…wiggle room…move…NOW! _His brain had commanded, working in tandem as his breathing starts to shallow. His left thumb starts to bend inward, his wrist turning and his brain reminding him a few cuts on the wrist was little pain compared to what was waiting at the other end of the tracks – death. He knows that Ed can't be faring much better but tells himself to get free first and then go in search of his missing TL.

_Come on…damn you MOVE! _Sam's mind growls at his left hand as it twists and turns under the chaffing ropes, his legs still unable to fully pull free, but not feeling as restricted as before; the small bits of hope were enough of an incentive to keep going.

_Keep going! _Sam commands himself as the ride starts to pick up speed, his heart rate instantly keeping time. Small beads of sweat start to form and slowly slide down his cheek, resting in the thick folds of the effective gag between his teeth. _Pull damn it! Pull! _Sam yells at his limb as he tries to pull the appendage free and clear, the rough roping doing everything in its might to not let go.

He doesn't know the length or layout of the track but knows that as speed continues to build, his exit better be quick or else he'll do just as much damage trying to get clear of this moving death trap as he would waiting for it to crash into whatever awaits at the end.

_PULL! _Sam's mind offers one last painful, and somewhat muffled groan followed by a gasp as his left hand finally pulls free, the tiny course fibers of the rope, scraping the skin on the hands way out. But Sam doesn't care as his left hand instantly reaches over to his right and starts to undo the ropes; the gag of course would be last. Feeling the ride picking up speed once again, only serves to motivate Sam to move faster. However, the ride enters a turn and Sam's body is pitched to the left, away from his captive right hand and forcing his left hand to hold on; precious seconds being wasted.

_Damn this guy! _Sam curses as he pulls with all his core strength, flinging his left arm back to his right and trying to drown out the mocking laughter at the same time as trying to remove himself from the speeding death trap. _PULL! _Sam once again commands his right hand, feeling the ropes starting to loosen, despite the shooting pains of fatigue now starting to course through his veins; stopping isn't an option. His right hand finally jerks free!

With both his hands free, Sam wastes no time in reaching for his feet to loosen them, the ride however, having another idea of its own and jerking hard to the right, forcing Sam's head to slam into the hard plastic of the front barrier and reopening the wound on his forehead that he had earned in the elevator. He wipes away the blood, his lungs heaving and mind racing as he frantically tries to pull free the ropes keeping his feet bound. Sam finally feels the ropes keeping his bound feet trapped to the floor starting to loosen, he gives his legs a jerking upward motion, pulling them free just as the cart starts to pick up even more speed; the next dark patch beyond the next turn was the deadly ending…the rails removed and the box waiting to sail into hell.

Sam looks to the side, his brain unable to process the speeding scenery and his mind telling him to pray and then jump, worry about the consequences later. And so he does.

With his feet still bound, Sam yanks the gag from his mouth, takes a deep breath of air and then slowly stands up, ready to jump into the darkness and pray he doesn't impale himself on the way down. _Oh God…please let this work, _Sam whispers before he closes his eyes and jumps, the box speeding toward its ill-fated destiny; Sam crying out in pain as he slams onto the floor, the same time the box he was in moments earlier crashes into a thick cement wall. Its collapse was great indeed; death would have been cruel and painful.

XXXXXXXX

_This is a joke right? This can't be happening! _Ed's mind continues to yell as he tries once more in vain to pull himself free; the distinct 'swooshing' overhead a very real reminder that if help doesn't arrive soon, his end would be dire indeed.

_Have to…pull…free…_ Ed groans as he tries again to pull his wrists free, his body unable to move from the cruel metal restraints keeping him in a tight X position. His head had once again started to pound about ten minutes earlier, his heart racing as each swoosh threatens the helpless SRU captive leader with mocking strokes. His back already damp with sweat and his right leg reminding him of the injury in the elevator, Ed knows he has to push past the seemingly minor injures in favor of concentrating all his strength and effort to get free – somehow.

_Damn you Micks! _Ed growls as his head slumps back down onto the heavy wooden slab, his lips muttering angry curses that get lost in the thick folds of the effective and damp gag. _HELP ME! _Ed tries once more, his eyes looking upward and for a brief moment losing the heavy silver blade in the darkened rafters before a glint of sharpened steel catches the light and the evil but very real threat rushes back into his mind once more.

Ed tightly balls his fist and flexes his captive arms once more, pushing every ounce of adrenaline and strength into his upper limbs as humanly possible in attempts to even pull the shackles away from their wooden attachment.

_Damn it! _Ed growls inside as he angrily slumps back in helpless defeat, his brain starting to panic as the blade starts to loom ever nearer. His mind tries to flash him happier images of his family, friends and team to dwell upon in a vain attempt to block out his would-be fate. But Ed refuses to allow his mind that mental detour, wanting to be alert and not give up, not if there was any chance he could pull the restraints free and at least sit up.

_Boss…you hafta find us in time! _Ed's mind laments as his ears pickup another looming 'swoosh' and his whole body freezes in fear.

_Sam…buddy…I really need your help right now._

XXXXXXXX

"So our shooter is just a small time Micks hood," Jules informs the team. "He probably volunteered for the job, was told there would be blanks in the guns and he was the diversion and if we didn't walk away would probably be taken to the hospital by Micks own phony coroner and that'd be it."

"Instead Micks ties up his own loose end by taking out the guy with the dummies and…damn the dummies. Nothing on them we could use?" Raf looks up at Greg.

"Besides the fact that each had a name tag, Eddie and Sam?" Greg groans. "Nothing," he adds as his phone rings. "Troy. Did you find the drivers?"

_"We did. We have both in custody now. They said they were both paid to drop off Ed and Sam near the stadium. Both were unconscious and bound. They were both put into a black van and that was it. They weren't told details of the kidnapping and I believe them."_

"Micks isn't going to tip his hand to his stooges in case they get caught. I'll get Spike to check the traffic camera's once again."

_"We'll keep looking Greg. No one's going home until Ed and Sam are safely back in the fold."_

"Thanks."

"Black van…stadium…got it," Spike repeats the information; Jules and Raf looking at the ID's of the Micks drivers on the other screen.

"Nothing on the two guys who drove them out of the electrical yard," Jules huffs. "Troy was right, these guys are petty small time crooks who have both been arrested on mostly small charges. Fraud, theft, minor assault…nothing to show that they'd be granted special knowledge on Micks plans."

"He'll only let a select few in on what he's doing," Raf informs them.

"Okay, while Spike's trying to track down the van, Raf and Jules lets start a search on those closest to Micks and see where they are right now or where they were last. This doesn't sound like a last minute snatch and grab. The dummies were planted; the shooter was taken out via a hidden sniper, the decorated vans, the drivers, the unseen hacker…even the rigged elevator. He had something planned and would have someplace…prepared for them. We need to find where that place is and time is running out."

XXXXXXXX

"Oh damn…" Sam softly curses as he lays in a dazed heap on the floor of the deadly amusement ride; the sound and light still pulsing overhead. He had tumbled onto his back, having the wind knocked from his lungs, his head hitting the cement, but his side being torn open on the way down; his legs still bound.

His body remains in place for a few more moments, his hands starting to gingerly inspect his frame, starting with his head and working his way down. He feels a tender spot on his head, his fingers coming away with a sticky substance he quickly surmises is a smattering of his own blood but nothing to suggest he'd need a trip to the ER before finding Ed. But the troublesome pain was coming from his side; the right side of his frame that he had snagged open on a jagged piece of rebar on the way down.

Knowing that Micks goons would soon be sent to inspect the wreckage, he has to get free and find Ed before the hunt is started without their direct involvement. Sam forces himself to sit up, biting back an angry yelp as his wounded side rubs against the fabric, the rough edges dancing with the chewed up skin and making his eyes instantly water. With some nervous adrenaline causing his hands to slightly tremble, Sam's attempts at freeing his feet are slower than he'd like at first. But as he forces his mind to ponder Ed's very noticeable absence, and what he just faced and he pushes past the pounding pain and quickly unbinds his feet.

Sam gets to his knees, feeling his side and wondering what he could use to stop the steady seepage of blood into the thick dark fabric. He has nothing so will have to endure the chaffing in hopes of finding Ed and exiting their hellish nightmare before too much damage is done. Keeping low, Sam slowly and carefully feels his way along the closest wall, praying for his head to stop pounding and the small dark circles to completely dissipate so he could focus and find an exit. He hears shouting in the distance – behind him, causing his heart rate to jump and his pace to quicken.

Finally, Sam spies a doorway and hurries toward it, his left arm still wrapped around his body and trying to keep the cut on his right side at least temporarily closed. If Ed was also in a death trap, he'd have to find him before he calls for help; time is running out and he isn't about to let Ed die a horrible death if he could help prevent it.

Sam slowly pushes his way through the rusty door and stares into the dimming grey late afternoon sky. It was now drizzly and he didn't know where on earth they were located. He had deduced correctly that it was an amusement park; being outside now confirmed that it was closed down. _Where the hell are we? Which one is this? _Sam's mind ponders as he looks around at the rest of the darkened attractions, his mind begging Ed to give him any kind of sign if possible.

Sam walks a few feet, rounding the front edge of the amusement park he had just survived and looks at two other buildings before him.

"House of horrors and Diablo's death trap," Sam mutters with a small painful wince. "Damn these games. Ed…where the hell are you?" Sam grumbles in a frustrated undertone as he starts to sprint toward the house of horrors first, his mind telling him that by now Micks goons were on the way to the wreckage to see how he had fared and of course upon discovering he wasn't there, the hunt would begin.

Sam nears the entrance and gazes at the darkened, gaping mouth of the goblin before him and feels his entire frame shudder. He shakes his head and then looks over at the other one with a heavy frown; he'd have to make the right guess. But as he nears the entrance to the House of Horrors, he strains his hearing, picking up faint but odd sounds coming from inside the belly of the seemingly quiet building.

He quickly looks around for anything he can use as a weapon, cursing the fact that there wasn't even a stone or pipe to be found. But not wanting to waste another second, Sam cautiously heads for the entrance, his left hand sticky from his blood and his mind begging him to seek medical aide and fast.

As soon as he enters the darkened chasm, Sam is greeted with a blast of cool air; making him pick up his pace and head further toward a dimly lit hallway. But just as he's about to descend down a staircase, Sam hears up a noise outside and hurries back to the entrance. As suspected, his missing remains from the death ride were now noticed and he was out of time.

His gaze narrows as he watches one of the goons exit Diablo's death trap and curses himself for making the wrong choice and squandering precious seconds of rescue time. The armed man gives a nod to the one across the way and a wave and heads back inside; obviously stationed there to guard something that they didn't want escaping or being taken from them – a captive SRU team leader.

"Ed," Sam whispers as he waits for the scene before him to completely clear and then hops over the railing, biting back the resounding thud of pain starting to reverberate through his frame as soon as his feet touch the ground. He sprints toward the entrance to Diablo's death trap, frantically scanning the area for something he could use as a weapon. Just before reaching the door he spies a rock of considerable size, his brain correctly deducing that it at one time, might have been used as a door jam; picks it up and heads for the entrance.

Sam slowly pulls the door to the sinister attraction open and then pauses in the shadows, wanting his heart rate to at least drop a few paces toward normal and allow him to think straight. He heads toward a hallway, picking up the pace and then rounding a corner and spying a lighted section and hurrying toward it.

He hears a mocking curse coming from inside the lighted area, making him slow his steps just as he nears the edge of the opening. Sam's head slowly starts to peek around the corner, his heart literally stopping short at the frightening sight before him.

"Oh god…Ed!" Sam whispers in shock; looking at Ed helplessly strapped down to the table, effectively gagged and the swinging blade almost about to slice him open. With the armed guard in the way, would he even make it in time? Or would he be forced into the role of horrified spectator, watching his friend die a horrible death?

* * *

**A/N:** duh duh duhhhhhhhhhh! okay so I have an evil mind lol and am blaming Hugh for this demented setting haha yes that's right my hawt Hugh *sigh* b/c of his short movie 'issues' in which he plays a brilliant but somewhat creepy clown - hence the amusement setting (I think I need therapy also). Okay so will Sam get to Ed in time? will they both get free of Micks twisted amusement park? Will the team find them in time? or will their time run out? hope you are all still liking this and please do leave a review as feedback lets us know how we're doing and encourages us :)

**PS:** Okay I'll work on a lighter/fluffier OS to counter this angst and tension! Deal? *grin*


	3. Not 'Amusing'

**Title: The Business of Revenge  
****Chapter 3 – Not 'Amusing'**

* * *

Sam remains fixed in time for a few horrible seconds until the silver glint of the swinging blade catches his eye and forces him back to reality and straight into action. Knowing he doesn't have long before Ed would be killed in a most horrible way, Sam readies himself and prepares to pounce, wanting to get a surprise attack on the man watching Ed without sounding off a warning alarm via a gun shot into the air.

_I need him to turn around…_ Sam's mind ponders as he peeks out from behind the curtain again to see Ed looking at the man with an angry furl and the man looking sideways at Ed. _Turn around buddy…all the way around…_Sam's mind begs, his hand still pressing down firmly on his right side; his whole body on edge to pounce. _Ed…you gotta get him to turn and face you…damn it time's running out._

Ed slumps his head back down on the wooden platform, the sharp end of the swinging pendulum looming ever closer; Ed's captive frame about to be sawn in half.

"You prepared to die?" The man snickers as he gives Ed a sideways sneer. Ed's eyes narrow as his fists clench, drawing another mocking snicker from the only man about to witness his horrible death.

_This can't be happening…not like this…_Ed's mind laments as the blade slowly drops closer. But just before he can ponder another fated thought about his would-be grisly demise, a small flicker of movement catches his senses, causing his vision to divert for a millisecond; his mind telling himself that it was Sam and all hope wasn't lost; Micks man would have made himself known. Knowing that if he were in Sam's position, he'd need a diversion to ensure his captor had his back turned so as not to ruin the surprise attack. But it wasn't like he could offer a glib comment or even try to lunge out at his attacker, he was completely helpless – except for his fingers. So with a small inward curse, Ed flips up his middle finger, drawing a surprised glance from his attacker.

Sam holds back a small snicker as he watches Ed hold up the rather rude gesture, knowing that it would take a lot for Ed to use something like that normally but knowing that it was also the only thing he could do to get the Micks goon to turn around completely – the ploy works.

"Nice answer smart ass," the goon growls as he punches Ed in the jaw with the butt end of his gun, forcing Ed's head to snap back onto the wooden platform and his eyes to briefly close in pain. "You want more of that tough guy? Huh? That's all you got?" The goon pokes the end of his gun into Ed's side, pulling back as the deadly blade drops down even lower.

_Hurry up Sam! _Ed's mind silently begs as he looks at his captor, not wanting to draw even one second's attention to his nearing team mate.

With his left hand now sticky from his own blood, Sam prays he'll get to Ed in time, his eyes darting between Ed's captors back and the swinging blade, knowing his friend must be inwardly frantic that'll actually be sliced wide open. _Oh god let me get there in time; _Sam prays as he quietly descends, nearing the bottom and telling himself if he puts a sleeper hold on Ed's captor he'll be out in mere moments.

"Micks had this one in particular in mind for you Lane," his captor taunts as Sam finally reaches the floor and starts toward them at a very silent pace; the whirring machinery in the ceiling above them doing its part to mask the advancing steps of the other team one elite sniper. "And I get to watch it cut you down to size."

_Seriously this idiot's jokes are wearing thin. Sam! Hurry up! _Ed inwardly growls as he tries to pull free, an outward spectacle meant as a diversionary tactic for the man standing guard.

Sam bites back a resounding pang of pain as he slightly lifts his right arm, the freshly clotted skin and blood reopening upon movement and forcing him to utter a small gasp. They were both out of time. Sam hurries toward the man standing guard over Ed, just as Ed's captor turns around and watches Sam rushing toward him; stone in hand.

"Son of a…" is all he manages before Sam's body slams into his, the gun not having the chance to go off. Sam's lips utter an angry grunt as he and the other male body slam painfully onto the floor. For a few seconds, Sam's weary lungs struggle for any labored breath his body could muster; however as the blade overhead makes another distinct 'swooshing' sound, Ed's very existence begs him for help.

_Sam! _Ed's mind yells as he watches the blade loom even closer; timing was going to be of the utmost importance now, there wasn't a second to waste.

Sam sends a sharp elbow back, clipping the man's jaw and snapping his head backward in the process. However, the man counters, punching Sam in his wounded side and forcing Sam's lips to automatically yelp in pain; the large stone he was going to use as a weapon now flung from his grasp. His attacker tries to grab a handful of hair, jerking Sam's head back, but Sam's short blond strands easily pulling free and allowing Sam to elbow his attacker in the face once more and roll free.

_Damn it! _Ed silently curses as he can only watch helplessly as Sam struggles to get the upper hand on the man trying to ensure his life was ended in a few minutes time.

"Ed…" Sam gasps as he tries to get to his knees. But just as he tries to punch the jaw of the man impeding his rescue attempts, the man lunges at Sam, wrapping his arms around his waist and pushing them both back to the floor.

"Lane's…gonna die…" the man snickers, just before he utters an angry curse as Sam's elbow connects firmly with his groin. Sam's attacker tries to squeeze his arms back down to his sides; Sam's mind very well aware of the fact that his wounded side was enflamed with new found pain.

_Sam! _Ed tries to yell, only a few desperate whimpers escaping the thick but very damp gag. _HURRY!_

As much as he'd normally hate to hear taunting snickers directed toward his helpless teammate, the Micks attacker's verbal taunts were actually fueling his angry adrenaline to work faster, causing Sam to grab the mans side and pinch for all the force he could muster.

"Ahhh!" The man yells as he pulls back slightly, loosening his grasp on Sam's arms and allowing Sam to finally try to wrestle himself free. The man punches Sam in his wounded side once more, Sam's eyes instantly watering and his brain yelling at him that another hit could actually ensure Ed would be killed.

_Sam hurry! _Ed whispers in desperation, his body gently writhing, desperately trying to pull free and find shelter from the ugly fury that the blade is about to deliver.

_You hafta save Ed! _Sam's mind yells as his side starts to throb a bit harder. But as he looks up and sees the blade looming closer to Ed's captive and struggling frame, he knows its time to end this fight. Driven on by angry rage, Sam flips himself over onto his side, landing two serious blows to the face of his attacker, breaking his nose and spraying his face with blood. The man yells out in pain as his hands instantly rise to protect his face. Sam punches him hard in the side again and then rolls away kicking him hard in the groin and crawling toward the fallen weapon – the rock he had brought in with him.

_Sam! _Ed's mind yells as the blade drops a notch lower.

Sam whips the heavy stone around, finally catching the man in the temple and sending him back to the floor in a very dazed stupor, another firm blow with the stone and his body slumps down into unconscious darkness; that fight was over, but there was still one life left to take care of. He grabs the fallen gun and shoves it into his belt; needing every fighting chance they could get in their favor.

"Ed…coming," Sam pants as he stands up, swallowing back a painful wheeze and rushing toward Ed's captive frame. He tries the stone first, but it ends up denting the shackle instead of breaking it. So with the butt end of the gun he starts to strike the end of the shackles, knowing it was more labour intensive but a direct shot would bring trouble sooner than they both want; Ed's gag would have to wait. "No…shots."

_Sam…just shoot the damn things already! _Ed yells as Sam strikes the bottom of the shackle holding his left wrist and the metal rung finally springs free.

"Sam…hurry," Ed gasps, as he yanks the damp gag from his mouth and takes his first full breath of air; his heart rate still on high as Sam quickly sidesteps the swinging blade; Ed still not out of danger.

"Sam….ah damn," Ed curses as the blade finally draws first blood, opening up a small slice of skin on Ed's raised forearm.

"Gonna be close," Sam huffs as he frantically works to free Ed's other wrist, the blade literally seconds away from spilling Ed's precious life blood for good. However, just as Sam is about to render the final stroke, freeing his TL, they both hear a noise and look up toward the stairs; Micks men were coming.

"Sam!" Ed shouts as the blade swings back, lining up the row of black fabric in its sights. The world seems to slow just as the blade nears the edge of the table, Ed closing his eyes and holding his breath as the super sharp blade slides across his belly. For a few quiet seconds, the world seems in harmony; that is until the blade swings free and both of them look up to see the bottom edge coated in crimson.

A few seconds later, Ed's lips utter a painful cry, time was up.

Sam's eyes widen as he realizes Ed's been cut, his brain sending every single ounce of energy to his fist to deliver the final blow to the metal shackle before the blade swings back and finishes the job. Ed's right wrist finally springs free and his arms reaching for Sam's and allowing Sam to pull him upward to a very painful seated position, Ed's eyes squeezing shut in pain as they slightly water; his brain not caring about the odd way his legs are bent as Sam tries to free them the same way he did his wrists.

The blade's next swoosh is felt mere centimeters from the damp fabric of Ed's black shirt, his back tensing as the blade sails past, his head slightly swiveling, acknowledging the fact that he was seconds away from being sliced in half. The blade swings back, hitting the edge of the heavy wooden table due to Sam's foot kicking at it, and forcing Ed's bloody right hand to leave his throbbing mid-section and quickly stabilize himself on the table as it shudders for a few seconds; Sam just about to completely free his left leg.

"Sam…" Ed gasps as the shackle springs free and his body starts to sag backward.

"Ed…I got you," Sam rushes in to help get Ed off the platform he had been restrained to in a very painful way for the past hour. With his limbs still tingling, Ed's body is slower to react to getting back to a proper upright shape, his lips uttering another gasp as he tries to stand up, his torn skin urging him to stay put.

"Hold…on a sec…."

"No…hafta move now…" Ed utters in pain as he helps Sam put his arm around his shoulder and then heads toward the back exit door just as two of Micks goons burst through the entrance door at the top and race toward the lighted stairwell.

"THEY'RE GONE!" One of them shouts and both Ed and Sam exchange the same panicked expression. They have to find a place to hid and fast.

"We need…to make a call," Ed whispers as Sam pushes them through the back exit door into the dark grey afternoon. Ed feels Sam's body slightly falter and then looks down to his left hand to see it covered with fresh blood. Remembering that Sam hadn't touched his stomach, Ed's mind races with wonder as to where the blood might have come from.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Where you hurt?"

"My side…Ed I'm fine," Sam insists. "There…" he nods toward another closed fun house. "We'll hide in there."

"Hurry."

XXXXXXXX

"Look man I get how this works…" Raf starts as he leans in a bit closer to the Micks perp he and Jules had been assigned to question. "You think if you rat out Harvey Micks…"

"I don't know nothin' okay!" The man stammers as he glares back at Raf.

Ah everyone knows something," Raf counters with a small frown. "You're not exactly low man on the totem pole in the Micks organization."

"Come on Anton…tell us what you know," Jules implores in a firm tone, her mind racing at a frantic pace that they'd get to Sam and Ed too late to save them. _Sam…where the hell are you? _Her mind wonders as she orders her face to keep its placid expression, not wanting to let the man before her know this was pulling her apart from the inside out.

"I…I can't."

"You make a deal and…"

"You have nothin' on me!" The man spits, Raf ducking the liquid projectile just in time.

"You sure?" Raf bluffs. "We think you know something."

"I don't know nothin' about those cops okay!" He shouts in haste, making Raf and Jules exchange amused expressions.

"How'd you know we were going to ask you about those cops?" Jules counters, making Anton slink back against the black SUV.

"Come on Anton. Tell us what you know."

"No."

"Okay then you're coming with us."

"What? Where too? What for?" Anton sputters as Raf turns him around to cuff him. "I ain't done nothin' wrong!"

"We're just gonna take you downtown for a ride and make it seem like you've been very helpful to us," Jules interjects, making Anton look at her and glare. "And then we'll put you back on the street and send you on your way…with our very public heartfelt thanks."

"Bitch," he curses under his breath.

"Am about to get a lot worse unless you tell us what you know. Micks kidnapped two police officers. What can you tell us?"

"Fine. I overheard…you swear when I tell you this, I can walk?"

"Tell us," Raf growls; Greg and Spike listening intently on the other end of the headset.

"I overheard him planning with a few other guys. Kidnap two cops that busted up his casino and make them pay."

"Make them pay how?"

"The ex army guy – his death…a car accident or something and the other one…cut in half."

"Pardon?" Raf sputters as all of them pick up Greg's heated curse on the other end. "Where!"

"I don't…"

"WHERE?" Raf shouts.

"I swear man I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!" Anton yells back before he's given a warning to calm down or else. "I swear. Only a few guys are privy to that, four to be exact and I wasn't one of them! I just know those cops are gonna die today and that's it; if they're not dead already. That's all I overheard."

"Boss?" Jules asks over her head set, her heart rate starting to morph into full fledge panic mode.

_"So it was planned as we suspected. Okay arrest him as an accessory and then we'll see what he knows about our dead guy and the other four. We need a location and ID's. Keep on him," Greg instructs _as he looks down at Spike.

"Cut in half?" Spike asks in dread.

"Not if we can help it. Spike…you hafta find them. That black van couldn't have just disappeared. Run the traffic footage again. We're missing something," Greg states as his phone buzzes to life. "Troy…anything?"

_"We're here in the tunnel now but the van is empty as suspected. And it seems this is where the camera's stop. But we have a name to follow up so are going with that. Did you learn anything else?"_

"Yeah," Greg pauses as Spike looks up in dread. "We're almost out of time."

XXXXXXXX

Ed and Sam enter the darkened funhouse, just as Micks three remaining men converge on the area Ed was just removed from.

"How bad…are you hurt?" Ed inquires with a small painful intake of air, the cut edges of his shirt mercilessly teasing the angry wound splayed across his smooth belly.

"I'm okay," Sam insists as his own wounded side prepares to brand him a liar. "Hold on," Sam eases Ed off his shoulder and then heads back to the door, looking for something to wedge it shut with and buy them a bit more extra time.

"Here…use this," Ed hands Sam a pipe that he had found beside a pile of rusted debris. "Nothing fun about this damn place," Ed mutters sourly, drawing a small smirk to Sam's lips. "Micks won't let up. We need…"

"Ed?"

"I'm fine…Sam I'm fine."

"Liar."

"Were are you injured?" Ed argues back as they both look at each other with heavy frowns. "We need all hands…on deck for this, including mine," he huffs as his left arm quickly wraps around his belly, pressing the fabric to it and praying that it would at least stop the bleeding. "Is that loaded?"

"Yeah."

"Every shot hasta count," Ed reminds him as they pull away from the door and slowly head down the dimly lit hallway toward the belly of the defunct funhouse.

"Was never a fan of these damn places even as a kid," Sam mutters.

"Lemme guess…you liked the shooting games?"

"Oh and you liked the roller coaster better?" Sam counters.

"Bumper cars," Ed whispers, making Sam smile and nod. They take a few more steps, deeper into unfamiliar territory, their eyes darting around and ahead, on the alert for possible traps or setbacks.

"I think that…" is all Sam manages before the full weight of his frame forces the rotten timbers he had just stepped onto, to give way, splintering and trying to suck him into the darkness below. "Ed!" Sam calls outs, making Ed quickly react, grab Sam's arms as he slams onto the hardened surface, his mouth cursing as the cut on his stomach starts to stretch in size.

"Hold…on," Ed grunts as he tries to get Sam's flailing frame out of the jagged hole. Knowing that Ed's just as injured, if not more so than him, Sam's hands claw at the edge of the wooden beams, reaching hold of a small cement ledge and trying to pull himself up with Ed's help.

"Ed…pull me up!"

"Trying…" Ed groans as his cut arm flexes against the fabric, the merciless laughing at the power it is able wield over the normally strong SRU team leader. Ed leans back, taking Sam with him; Sam's lips crying out as his side rubs against the jagged wood. "Gotta…move back…"

"Keep…going," Sam instructs as he feels Ed's movements pause at his outcry. Not knowing what awaits him in the blackness below, but remembering that his last fall was too close to a near death experience on its own and still feeling the literal side-effects from that fall, letting go of Ed's grasp isn't an option.

"Almost…there," Ed pants as he manages to get Sam's body half way back onto the cement part of the platform, rolling to the side and letting Sam pull himself all the way clear. "Okay…you're through…you're through."

"Thanks," Sam manages, nearly out of breath as he and Ed lie side by side for a few seconds longer; breathing hard and each trying to get their brains to refocus. "This place won't keep us hidden for very long," Sam manages as he slowly sits up and looks down at Ed in concern. "Ed…"

"Lead…the way," Ed grunts as Sam slowly helps him stand up. He had removed the gag and was using it to press against the wound but when Sam fell through the boards, the soaked fabric went with it, taking away his means of at least keeping the seeping blood at bay. "Where'd they have you?"

"Some kind of roller coaster with no landing platform," Sam explains as they head further into the fun house. "I…" Sam starts and then quickly stops as they both round the corner and come face to face with a plastic skeleton. "Ah damn! I hate this place."

"Too bad those knives aren't real," Ed nods to a large plastic carving knife in the dummies hands. "Where did y…" is all Ed manages this time, before a small chute opens underneath him, swallowing him whole.

"Ed!" Sam half shouts as he takes another step, the floor below him giving way and swallowing him also; the darkness laughing at its two latest victims.

XXXXXXXX

"We are going in circles with these clowns," Raf huffs, not realizing the importance of the pun on his words. "Both Anton and Nick say the same thing," Raf concludes; Nick being the guy Troy had picked up – the driver of the black van. "Nothing more of use."

"And the other four top Micks guys are still unaccounted for," Spike informs them.

"We are missing something," Jules pipes up as they all stand before the large writing board in the team one meeting room. "And time is running out."

Greg walks up to the board and takes the dry erase marker in his grasp and starts to write down some words, Spike watching him intently.

"Okay besides Harvey Micks what else do these words all have in common?" Greg ponders as he pulls back and allows the rest of the team to see; Troy and team four heading to check out one more confirmed lead. "Micks is smart but I'm willing to bet he didn't take them that far. They are here…around city limits…we just need to find them. We know the area of the apartment building and the utility company and the stadium, but we need to narrow it further. Come on team...what are we missing?"

Spike's mind drowns out Greg's soft plea as continues to look intently at the words before him. He looks at the words as he types them into his laptop and then starts to shuffle a few things around; his mind acting upon a rather out of the current box connection. About ten minutes later, Spike looks up at Greg with an anxious expression, his words not even escaping his lips and Greg knowing he'd found something of importance.

"Spike?"

"Boss…I think I found something."

XXXXXXXX

Tumbling blind in the darkness down what he guesses is an old laundry or utility chute, Ed's hands try to grasp on to something…anything he can use to slow down his rapid and painful descent. He tries to slow the free fall by dragging his hands on the sides of the aluminum walls. But with his left hand sticky from blood and Sam's body barreling down seconds behind him; it's a losing battle.

"Ahhh…." Ed's lips utter a weary groan as he slams into the floor, a few seconds later Sam's body crashing down onto his legs and rolling to the side.

"Really…sick of this…place," Sam grumbles as he remains in place a few seconds longer. "You…okay?"

"Define…okay," Ed counters with a twinge of sarcasm laced with a painful gasp. "Fine. You?"

"Peachy. Now…where are we?"

Ed tries to get his watery eyes to focus, his head to stop spinning and the dark circles to rapidly clear so that he'd know at least where they'd tumbled. As soon as he does, he focuses on a somewhat distorted clown face a few feet away and tries to stifle gasp.

"Ed?"

"Nothing. This place gives me…the creeps."

"Copy that," Sam replies wearily as he tries to push himself to his knees, Ed following suit. "Just…sit for a sec," he instructs Ed, gently pushing him back down to a semi-lying position to take as much strain as possible off his cut abdomen.

"The cut isn't deep…just stings like hell," Ed groans as he rests his throbbing head back down on the cool but dirty cement. "You came along at exactly the right moment."

"Can't imagine what you were thinking when you woke up and saw that blade overhead."

"Probably the same as you strapped into that roller coaster of death with no soft landing," Ed quips.

"Scared like hell. Micks is one twisted baddie," Sam muses as he winces the same time as his side moves.

"What did you do?" Ed asks pointedly.

"Snagged my side when I jumped from the car just before it crashed," Sam finally confesses. "Thankfully nothing's broken but after this am gonna put in for a day off."

"Might join you on that notion," Ed sighs as he tries to get up.

"Really?" Sam asks in shock.

"Nah," both him and Ed smirk as once. But before either of them can make another move, they hear the doors bust open overhead and loud footsteps converging over the chute drop.

"We gotta…" Sam starts in a low hiss; Ed now on his knees beside Sam.

"Hold on…" Ed whispers back as they both remain in the darkened chasm on their knees, ready to move but waiting for the right moment. The footsteps are heard heading away from the chute drop and a few loud shouts follow before all is quiet again.

"They passed by," Sam utters in quiet relief.

"For now, but it won't take them long…to find us."

"You know where to go?"

"No. You?" Ed replies matter-of-factly.

"No. But if this is the area where they did the fixings and such then there hasta be a back door."

"Let's find it," Ed instructs as he bites back an oncoming gasp of pain as he slowly stands up; his entire body about to shut down right where he was. The two of them start to explore their darkened surroundings; coming upon one creepy deserted item after another, each uttering a few whispered curses upon not finding the exit.

Sam's frantic hands continue to feel along the cold stone wall for the exit; the darkness thicker away from the light. He hears shuffling toward him and figures Ed is finally making his way over to help out with his search. The air starts to feel cooler upon his fingers, drawing him closer and closer toward an exit, his mind now wondering what would be on the other side of the door when it's opened.

Sam reaches the darkened alcove, his brain elated as he feels the cool metal door and then moves his hand down to the metal push bar to open. He twists his head slightly to see a figure looming but figures it's Ed and prepares to open the door.

"Okay Ed, push with your shoulder, it feels stuck."

"Sam," Ed's firm whisper comes from past the dark figure. "That's not me."

"What?"

XXXXXXXX

"Troy, I'm putting you on speaker," Greg tells the team.

_"So we went to the address of Richard Becks, the man Anton said was the sniper. We found his body with a bullet hole between the eyes."_

"Man it really doesn't pay to piss this guy off," Raf mutters.

"Yeah he doesn't just get mad…he gets even."

_"Well we are adding up our bodies but running out of viable leads."_

"Okay leave that for the locals and get your team back here to regroup," Greg instructs as he hangs up.

"I think I found something we can use," Spike mentions again.

"Okay what?"

"Now just go with me here…it might be a stretch but I think it's a solid stretch," Spike tells the team as he starts to erase the words Greg had written and then rewrite them in a specific order; Greg, Jules and Raf leaning in and watching as Spike lines the words up in a specific vertical pattern.

"We crossed referenced all those words."

"Wait...I added a few that fit and...made notes," Spike mentions as he next puts the first letter of each word with a hyphen before the actual word, spelling out their next vertical clue.

"What on earth?" Raf ponders with a heavy frown as Spike steps back from all his note scrawling.

A – Anton Romano (hired the Micks sniper)  
M – Michael Lake (dead guy at scene)  
U – Utility trucks (get away vehicles)  
S – Sam Braddock (or even stadium)  
E – Ed Lane  
M - mannequins (dummies)  
E – elevator (used to kidnap Ed and Sam)  
N – Nick Toews (black van driver)  
T – The Towers apartment building (where call originated)

"Amusement?" Jules utters.

"Spike, none of this is amusing," Greg quips. "What's it pointing to?"

"When I did a search with the word 'Amusement' cross-referenced with 'Micks' I found out that just past the old fort highway, about an hour out of town, there's some underdeveloped land out there, abandoned mostly due to funding. And one of them is an old amusement park that used to belong to Harvey Micks, called Micks Musement Land."

"No way. Amusement park? Who fills out the park letters?" Raf retorts.

"Micks might not have used that word but if it fits, we can use it. What else Spike?"

"The Towers Apartment building, the Utility company, the dead snipers apartment, even stadium are all on the way…they're all heading in that direction."

"Okay then. Team one…hot call…Micks Musement Park," Greg calls out as he instructs Jules to call Troy. "Good work Spike."

"Boss it's only a hunch."

"It's the best one we've got. Let's go get our boys."

* * *

**A/N: ** So who else is in the room with Sam and Ed? Will the door lead to freedom? Or is trouble waiting? Will team one get there in time? Or has time run out? Hope you all continue to like the suspense and please do review before you go and thanks so much (its not that I hafta know what you are thinking but it fuels us to write faster) hehe


	4. The Ride's Over

**Title: The Business of Revenge  
****Chapter 4 – The Ride's Over**

* * *

The dummy cloaked in dark starts to fall toward Sam, his body pulling out of the way in time, Ed's hands reaching out and grabbing the plastic appendages before it could clatter to the cement floor and draw unwanted attention to themselves prematurely.

"Damn these creepy dummies," Sam growls, making Ed's lips twist into a soft smirk in the dimly lit cavern. "Fine the next one falls on you," Sam grumbles. "The door feels stuck. What?"

"Nothin'…just your yell was a bit…high pitched."

"You saying I scream like a girl? That clown is freaky…like the one from Stephen King's IT," Sam insists as Ed slightly chuckles. "You like clowns?"

"I don't mind them. Okay can we focus on the door?"

"Fine but you better not tell anyone about that damn clown."

"Promise. Okay once outside we know we won't have much time," Ed states in truth as he starts to feel long the door for anything that might be impeding their escape.

"It's too quiet," Sam muses.

"I know…either way it's gonna be a fight to the death if help doesn't arrive soon."

"That guy had no phone, only a two way walkie-talkie, but there hasta be a phone around here somewhere," Sam relates. "Think Micks is really here?"

"Well we thought he wasn't at the club when he was," Ed groans. "Who knows where that sick bastard is at any given time," Ed mutters in anger. "But he brought us here to die and we know he won't let up until that happens or we find a way to signal the team and they get her to help stop that."

"Ed we can't split up."

"There hasta be a control booth around here Sam. I'll draw them…"

"No way," Sam argues back.

"Who's team lead here, huh?" Ed retorts.

"You're hurt worse than me. Let _me_ be the distraction," Sam insists as the two of them stand face to face about a foot apart; both with determined expressions. "But splitting up is a bad idea."

"Together we're stronger," Ed nods in agreement. "Ready?"

"Ready," Sam agrees, knowing they'd both have time to rest and tend to their wounds once they were assured of their future well being; now isn't that time. Sam tries the door again, but just before he's about to give the signal for both of them to push through, Ed's hand grabs him just as another shadow passes by the bottom edge of the door. Sam's head shakes as he utters a whispered curse and both of them pull back, knowing Micks goons know exactly where they are.

Ed gently pulls Sam back toward another part of the musty smelling room, signaling there was an old wooden ladder and they could try to climb back up as the stairs were boarded up.

"It won't hold both of us at once," Sam insists as he tries to hold the ladder, feeling it creak a bit in his firm grasp.

"You go up first."

"Ed…I got this. Now move your ass," Sam lightly curses, prompting Ed to arch his brows in semi-amusement but not argue in return. With a small nod, Sam's hands grip both sides of the rotten ladder as Ed starts to carefully climb, feeling the rungs starting to strain beneath the pressure of his aching form. _Hurry! _Ed's mind urges as he takes another few steps, the frantic pounding in his ears trying to drown out the constant creaking from the wood seconds away from splintering beneath each step.

Ed finally reaches the top and pauses, slowly poking his head into the dimly lit area above and looking around for any other surprises. At not seeing any, he takes a chance to breach his cover; his body half way out of the chute pit when he a thick dark figure steps forward and within seconds two hands grab his black shirt and yank him forward.

"Got you now!" The man growls as he drags Ed's flailing body away from the opening.

"Damn it!" Sam curses as he starts to climb the wooden ladder. But about half way up, the back door is pried open and one of Micks goons rushes toward an escaping Sam, plunging toward the ladder, pulling Sam back toward him and ensuring the ladder topples back to the ground, breaking along the way – both were on their own now.

Ed's arms flail about in the air as he scrambles to pick up something…anything he can use to stall or even take his attacker out of commission before he meets his end. A swift kick to his already cut and throbbing mid-section, makes Ed's eyes instantly water and his lungs to gasp for air. His body collapses to the ground, his mind begging him to stay put. But just as the man's foot is seconds away from connecting with his cut flesh once more, Ed's dirty hands shoot out, catching the man's foot and twisting it around.

Ed's attacker cries out as his body slams to his knees, Ed's legs springing into action, kicking at his back and forcing him to his belly. The goon, however, counters just as Ed pounces, his arms wrapping around Ed's as the two of them roll back toward the opening, too close for Ed's comfort as he feels the cool breeze from the cavern below.

_Sam! _Ed's mind yells as he sustains a hit to the side, his lips uttering an angry grunt as he sends an elbow backward. The blow lands on the man's neck, causing him to sputter for air and loosening his grip on Ed's beleaguered frame.

"Sam!" Ed calls out, not knowing that a few feet below his friend and fellow team member is also embroiled in a fight to the death.

Sam hears Ed calling out his name just as the man he's trying to get off him, gets a surge of strength and pushes them backward, his arms still wrapped around Sam's waist; slamming them both into the wall a few feet behind Sam. Sam's back connects harshly with the cruel concrete, making him offer a gasped grunt. His knee swiftly comes up, connecting with his attackers groin and forcing the man to yelp in pain and step back a foot; giving Sam enough space to kick out, sending the man backward another foot, but not off balance.

Sam's fingers frantically pull for the gun he had taken from the other Micks thug, his attacker charging once more, and pushing both their bodies into a nearby pile of moldy remnants, their actions kicking up the dust and causing both of them to cough and pull back, temporarily blinded by the stinging spores in the air.

The attacker lands a hard blow to Sam's side, making Sam cry out and Ed's ears to pick up his friends anguished cry below. With an angry surge of adrenaline coursing through his weary frame, Ed twists himself onto his back and rolls backward onto his attacker, grabbing the mans hand as he continues, taking the man's frame with him as he rolls back, pinning him beneath him. Despite the pounding in his head, Ed's head lands firmly on the man's beneath him, making him grunt and his head to loll to the side.

With a painful wheeze Ed rolls off, trying to punch at his waning attacker, the man's hand countering and landing another blow to his stomach. Ed's lips growl but in doing so his attacker leaves open a vulnerable spot and Ed punches him hard in the face, snapping his head back and the gun to loosen from his grasp.

Without wasting a second, Ed scrambles for the gun, desperately trying to claw it away from his attackers grasp and gain the upper hand; wanting to really even the odds with the remaining Micks hit men. Ed finally manages to land his hand on his attackers, using all his strength to twist the man's hand toward his own chest and then not wasting a second in pulling back on the trigger.

Sam's ears pick up the shot a few meters above, his mind now racing that Ed was either delivered a final death blow or was further wounded; the best case scenario of course being that Ed got the upper hand and his attacker was taken out for good. But either way the shot would call more help – in Micks favor. Time was running out.

"One down…" Sam's attacker sneers as he lungs at him again, both of their lungs still gasping for fresh air from the dust storm their bodies had unleashed earlier. "You're…next," the man taunts as he punches Sam in his wounded side, forcing Sam's body to start to sag toward his knees.

"Never…" Sam gasps as he punches his attacker hard in the groin, making the man's face crunch with pain as his body starts to falter. Sam takes advantage of opponent's fallen stature, finally yanking free his gun and hitting the man in the head with it. The man's hands immediately spring to his face, trying to comfort the throbbing but pulling back and allowing Sam just enough space to strike again, this time the man's body falling backward onto the ground. He pulls his gun, but Sam's quick reflexes take him out before the shot can actually be fired. Silence ensues.

"Sam…" Sam's ears pick up a soft wheeze as he bites back a painful gasp and hurries toward the opening, looking up to see Ed's face peering down.

"You okay?" Ed asks, wanting to mostly know if he had sustained any fresh injuries.

"Yeah. You?"

"Fine," Ed grunts as he leans on his right side a bit more. "Can you climb up?"

"No. Damn ladder's busted. Meet you outside? You have a weapon right?"

"Armed and ready and Sam…be careful. Just because our count is lowering doesn't mean Micks is."

"Copy that."

Ed rolls onto his knees and pauses for a few seconds before standing all the way up, his eyes watering as his enflamed stomach rebels against the movement of the fabric, making him cry out and Sam to pause in his tracks a few meters below. With his gun in hand, Ed carefully makes his way toward the entrance to the twisted fun house, pushing it open; only to be forced back inside from a hail of gunfire.

"Sam!" Ed calls out as he turns and rushes back toward the chute opening, tossing himself down and landing in an angry heap on the floor, just as angry footsteps burst through the front door a few meters above mere seconds alter. Sam's hands quickly pull Ed upright and both of them waste no time in rushing for the door, busting through and racing to the left, the light outside almost completely spent.

"To the left…move," Ed pants as he turns and fires at one of Micks goons who had dared showed himself to the angry and hurt sniper. The man quickly ducks back behind the somewhat battered amusement sign, allowing Ed and Sam to duck behind the end of the funhouse, immediately scanning the landscape before them.

"You two are proving to be a real source of irritation to me," Micks booming voice cracks to life over the aging speaker system.

"See a place to hide?" Ed asks in haste, ignoring the taunting voice.

"Actually…" Sam nudges Ed, making him look up and to the right; his military knowledge springing to the fore of his mind. "There…see the shooting range game."

"We'll be sitting ducks…pardon the pun," Ed remarks dryly, making Sam slightly smirk. "I'll cover you…go!"

Both ready their guns, Ed firing off a few shots, drowning out Micks voice still lingering over their heads in the cool late afternoon air. The goon that had previously been shooting at them, ducks back, enabling Sam to make a sprint for it, Ed keeping him pinned down. Biting back a very painful gasp, Sam throws himself into a roll, ducking a spray of bullets coming from another direction now both he and Ed were pinned down.

"Damn you Micks," Sam curses, as he watches Ed pull back just as the area he's standing in is peppered with automatic gunfire.

"That's right, I called in reinforcements," Micks laughs over the loudspeaker, making Ed grit his teeth as he leans back and closes his eyes briefly, the cut on his stomach still bleeding; precious energy continuing to dissipate, rendering him weaker and weaker with each fighting situation. He looks over at Sam and knows his friend and team member isn't faring much better.

Ed sees a man coming up behind Sam on the right side, waving his arms and signaling to Sam to expect company. But in doing so is distracted from his own attack, two men coming up behind him, a gun being pushed into his neck.

"Got you Lane," the man snickers just as Sam turns to see Ed in two of Micks men's clutches; the gun snatched from his grasp.

"RUN SAM!" Ed shouts just as Ed's back sustains a tough blow from his new captor, making his body falter to his knees, Sam ducking out of sight just before the other Micks goon could surprise him.

"That's fine Lane, he'll watch you die first," the man laughs as he cocks the trigger.

XXXXXXXX

"How far away Troy?" Greg asks as he and Spike follow at pace behind Raf and Jules speeding SUV.

_"Coming in from the north. Still about twenty minutes out. You?"_

"Us to. We heard a report of shots fired in the area so that's a good sign," Greg comments.

_"At least they still have someone…to shoot at," Jules voice is heard over the headsets, her mind praying that both Sam and Ed would be alive and shooting back when they arrive._

"Let's keep it that way. Step on it team."

"Copy that," Spike mutters under his breath. "Boss…" Spike looks over at Greg behind the driver's wheel.

"We'll get there in time Spike. Our boys have lasted this long. Shots fired…we'll make it."

"Right."

XXXXXXXX

"Were the hell are you boy?" A gruff voice is heard as Sam pushes himself further under the wooden platform of the defunct amusement park game. He watches the footsteps approaching and then stop, Sam's heart racing wildly as he peeks out from under the bottom of the game platform, watches Ed's arms are bodily pulled behind his back and his wrists secured by a plastic zip-tie, Sam reading Ed's curse, just as the same time his lips utter the same one.

"Constable Braddock!" A loud voice shouts, making Sam's breath catch for a few seconds. Knowing that he was going to be told to show himself and surrender and what's Ed's order would be, Sam starts to calculate his next move. He has no time to take the clip and check the remaining bullet count but knows that he hasta give Ed at least somewhat of a fighting chance, his own fate he'd ponder second.

_I shoot the guy about to shoot Ed and…then…_and then he knows he'll be vulnerable in seconds if he doesn't then take out the other man at the same time. But if he takes out both men standing guard over Ed, the one a few feet away, would have time to bend down and shoot him, maybe not a firm death stroke, but enough to render him useless and possibly seal his fate.

"Damn it," Sam curses as his fist pounds the ground.

"Sam, don't do it! Don't come out!" Ed predictably orders as he receives a firm nudge to the back of his already throbbing head.

"Shut it Lane," the goon growls, making Ed grit his teeth and narrow his gaze; his mind cursing the fact that his wrists were uselessly trapped behind his back; the pressure also serving to keep the shooting pains from his cut mid-section growing stronger and stronger.

_Okay…I think I got this figured out…_Sam's mind states as he lines up the man about to shoot at Ed, his body pulling behind a steel beam driven into the ground to keep the game in place. He hopes that while he was delivering the second shot, the beam would conceal all vital organs, his arms and legs, he knows being fair game.

"Very well Constable Braddock," Micks voice cracks once more. "You can watch your friend die."

Refusing to close his eyes, Ed keeps his gaze firmly fixed on the darkened patch he had last seen Sam duck into; the shadows doing their job well in keeping the other male SRU sniper hidden from view. _Sam…where are you buddy…take the damn shot if you can, _Ed's mind ponders as he looks at the man standing by the edge of the game waiting for Sam to come out – which of course he doesn't.

"Kill Constable Lane now."

Ed's breath catches as soon as the Micks order for his death is given, his heart skipping a beat but his ears exploding with the sound of gunfire, his body jerking but not moving from place; a second shot following just as fast. The two men on either side of him fall, Ed's body instinctively pushing back on his knees to his feet and away from the spot on the ground. He ducks behind the edge of the game, his mind yelling at his body to find something to cut loose his ties with. At the same time, the man standing and waiting for Sam, fell to his knees and started to fire.

"Sam!" Ed shouts as he drops to the ground, desperately trying to wrestle his bound wrists over his large frame. The setting wasn't the tightest and after offering a very painful yell from the cut in his chest ripping open further, Ed manages to get his bound wrists over his boots, knees and then rest them on his heaving chest a few seconds, his tongue tasting his own coppery blood from when he had bit down on his lip just as his wrists pulled painfully over his boots.

Spitting out the blood before his stomach can lurch, Ed takes a deep gasp, grasps a gun in between his wrists from the dead man a few feet away and fires at the man still trying to get Sam to come out of hiding. The diversion works as the good looks up and fires at Ed, Ed moving a bit to the right and taking him down for good; Micks angry curse resounding over the loudspeaker as he bellows for further reinforcements.

"Damn these guys won't quit! Sam!" Ed shouts as he races for the darkened patch by the shooting gallery game, his mind frantic that Sam was hit and he's lost a good man and close friend. "Sam!" Ed shouts again, his mind too busy trying to hear over his own madly pounding heart to notice the sirens in the distance – help was soon to arrive.

"Ed…" Sam's somewhat weak voice is heard, prompting Ed to drop to his aching belly to see what Sam's condition was.

"You hit?"

"Yeah…left leg."

"I can't pull you out…can you crawl to me?" Ed implores as he puts the gun down beside him for quick access and then tries to offer his wrists to Sam to help pull him out. But just as he does, his feet are grabbed from behind, pulling him away.

"Ed no!" Sam shouts frantically as he watches Ed's fingers clawing at the dirt to keep himself from becoming a prisoner again.

Ed's lips offer an angry grunt as he's pulled back; Sam pushing himself in the opposite direction and hoping he can come out the other side and surprise the man now attacking Ed. The gunshot wasn't as serious as he thought, the femoral artery, thankfully still in tact; but it was another wound that would add to his collection of strength sapping ills.

Ed tries to pull his feet free but with his wrists still bound by the plastic zip tie, his progress is anything but effective; his mind seething as his ears pick up the mocking snicker from the man allowing him to uselessly struggle in mid-air.

"Not gettin' very far are ya?" The man laughs as he holds onto Ed's boots a bit longer, making it impossible for him to pull free; the man countering each move Ed tries to make. But just as the man's about to drop Ed's legs and pull his gun, Ed twists his head around just in time to see Sam's body slam into the man',s pushing him free of Ed and allowing Ed to dig his fingers into the cold dirt and pull himself away.

"Ahhh!" Sam's lips cry out painfully as he sustains a kick to the area surrounding the gunshot, causing him to pull back. Ed wastes no time in pushing himself up and hurling his own weary frame into the man about to take Sam down for good. With Ed's distraction, Sam manages to pull free and grasp the gun, yelling at Ed to move clear before he fires a shot.

"You…okay?" Ed asks with a small smirk that morphs into a grimace.

"No," Sam replies pointedly as both of them lay on the cool, damp ground breathing hard. "Sirens."

"Team one. Help's arrived."

XXXXXXXX

"Spike what is that?"

"Okay I can see that the amusement park's security system is working but…"

_"But what? Are Sam and Ed still alive?" Raf asks in haste._

"Yes but the original signal isn't coming from the park."

"Figures Micks would run things remotely."

_"He was at the casino."_

"We don't know that for sure. He could have been nearby and then swooped in when Ed's cover was questioned," Greg reminds them. "Where is Harvey Micks, Spike?"

Spike fiddles on the keyboard as they near the amusement park. The same signature that had blocked him at the Towers apartment was the same current signature that was connecting Micks to the amusement park. "I think I got Micks."

"Troy, Spike's gonna send you the address to where we thinks Micks might be. A few blocks away. Go in silent. We don't want to tip our hand to him," Greg commands just as the two Team One SRU SUV's turn off their sirens.

_"Copy that," Troy answers firmly._

"Spike can you see them?"

"Yeah…we hafta hurry…they're pinned down and look…"

_"Look what Spike?" Jules asks in haste, her mind yelling at her to keep her emotions in check._

"We just hafta hurry."

XXXXXXXX

"I heard them…but now…damn did they leave? Okay we still need…"

"Cover. Copy…that," Sam pants as he watches Ed get to his feet, frowning at his bound wrists but thinking twice about asking. Ed helps Sam slowly stand up, watching as Sam undoes that gag that was still around his neck and using it to tightly tie it around the bleeding wound.

"Bullet might…still be in," Sam huffs with a painful wheeze as they hear shouting in the distance.

"Where the hell can we go?" Ed growls as both of them look around a few seconds before Ed nods toward another defunct ride. "There at least we can see them coming."

"Go."

With Sam's arm around his neck, Ed pushes them toward the unmoving Carousel, the back covered with wooden planks and the front exposed; they'd see anyone heading for them and be able to take them out. A bullet shot ricochets off one of the metal rungs holding an aged plastic horse in mid-air, forcing both Ed and Sam to instantly cringe as the distinct 'ping' nearly misses them.

"How many shots left?" Ed inquires as they shove themselves into the small control booth, peering out over the consol, waiting for Micks men to reveal themselves.

"Not many…you?"

"Enough for these but unless help arrives fast, we'll run dry and Micks knows it," Ed remarks angrily as a few more shots are fired at them, both of them ducking just as the wood around them splinters. Ed rests back on the metal door beside the small safe and sound panels, his hand clutching his stomach, drawing Sam's concerned gaze. "I'm fine."

"Like hell."

"You're not in any better shape either," Ed retorts, making Sam just shake his head as they both look down at the blood soaked tourniquet around his leg. Sam nods before he tries to crouch back up, firing off a few shots and sending the advancing Micks goon retreating for cover.

"These guys just seem to keep multiplying," Ed grumbles as he notices movement to the left and right, the mirrored reflection showing them a few things in advance.

"Money talks and Micks has lots of it," Sam states in truth. "I hope the silence means the team's arrived Think they'll know were in here?"

"They just need to follow the trail of bodies that…" Ed deadpans and then pauses before he looks at Sam with a panicked expression. "Sam…" his voice is cut off by the sound of gunfire in the opposite direction. "The team is…what is…that?"

"What the hell…"

"Fire!" Both of them exclaim at once, realizing that one of the popping sounds was that of a small explosive device going off behind the wooden part of the ride they were hiding behind, the distinct crackling sound now being heard.

Sam pops his head up to see what their escape route would be like it was blocked by two of Micks men. "Damn where are they?"

"Busy," Ed growls as he fires off a shot to send Micks men scrambling back. The ploy works, both wounded SRU officers slowly standing up as acrid smoke starts to burn their eyes and choke their lungs. "Move…" Ed coughs as Sam struggles to stand on his wounded leg. Just as Ed stands up an armed gunman appears, Ed quickly pushing Sam behind him and holding up his bound wrists to show that he didn't have his gun.

"Come out with your hands…up," the goon sneers.

"To my left."

"Ready," Sam whispers as they slowly walk past the wooden door, the flames intensifying behind them. But just as Ed slightly pivots to the right, Sam takes the shot, hitting the goon in the leg; another shot from another angle finishing the job; team one to the rescue.

Starting to cough a bit more, Ed and Sam slowly meander through the plastic horses, both of them hearing familiar voices starting to converge on their whereabouts. Just as they are about to breach the ride and take in their first few breaths of fresh air, another gunman appears ready to fire.

A clean, single shot takes the man down, his body falling forward, revealing Jules with her MP5 raised.

"Sam!" She states as her and within seconds Raf, rush toward them.

"Jules!"

Ed twists his head to see Sam's strained smile of relief. In a setting like this their public displays of emotion weren't violating the Priority of Life code, Micks men weren't in mortal danger and after all that, it was only natural. "Boss I found them, by the old carousel. Sam what…oh god your side. We need medics in here now!" Jules growls into her headset, her warm brown eyes misting over as her inspection travels down from his side to the gunshot wound on the leg before she looks over at Ed.

_"Copy that Jules, Spike and I are seconds away."_

_"Medics on their way," Spike informs them._

"Boy are we glad to see you," Raf states with a small frown.

"Good…timing," Ed pants as he hands off Sam's battle weary frame to Jules and then Spike, holding out his wrists for Raf to cut free.

"What the hell happened here?" Greg asks somewhat rhetorically as he looks at Ed in concern as Ed's wrists spring free and his dirt-caked hands start to rub some feeling back into the chaffed but numb skin.

"Hell. I need to lie down."

"Not sit?" Greg half smirks, not realizing the extent of his team leader's injuries.

"Not this time," Ed winces as he pulls away some of the sliced fabric.

"Oh my g…" is all Greg manages in a soft whisper, his arms reaching out to help Raf grab Ed, just as Ed's knees buckle from lack of energy and adrenaline and his body starts to collapse. "We got you. Gently Raf, the cut's pretty bad," Greg instructs as Ed's face displays another angry wince.

"He really tried to saw you in half?" Raf ponders angrily.

"Damn close to," Ed mutters in anger. "Sam saved my life."

"Ed returned the favor…a few times," Sam looks at Ed and states as Ed merely nods in return.

"Boss we gotta get…to Micks and…"

"Relax, Troy's team is making the arrest now. I just got word they were able to catch him in the act, watching you and Sam on a few closed-circuit TV's along with his computer hacker from the Towers apartment call. Team Four got it all. They're both going to jail for kidnapping, assault, attempted murder and a few other charges."

"Micks'll walk. He'll blame his stooges and walk," Ed grumbles as they all slow to a standstill, the ambulances pulling into the muddy yard; the cool rain starting to pelt upon them all.

"Right now you both need to get fixed up and rest," Greg tells Ed as he gestures for the medics to help Ed and Sam. "We'll worry about Micks guys later," Greg utters as he notices Ed at first refusing help, wanting Sam to go first.

"We have another stretcher," the other medic gestures for the second one to be brought in, Sam already being helped onto the first and then wheeled to the first waiting ambulance, Jules at his side.

"Raf, Spike, bring the other SUV's back to the barn. We'll do the paperwork and team debrief tomorrow; when we'll be down two men."

"Boss…" Ed tries to protest, being at once pulled back down to the stretcher by the two medics and pushed back down on his shoulder by Greg.

"Eddie…just rest. That's an order."

"He needs an order to rest after all this?" The medic retorts, drawing an upward irate brow raise from Ed before he purses his lips but says nothing in return.

"He's stubborn," Greg smirks as Ed's finally wheeled into the second warm ambulance and the two of them speed away from the amusement park from hell. "When that elevator came up empty…" Greg huffs as he leans back against the wall of the ambulance and looks down at Ed with a heavy frown. "You my friend…got lucky."

"I gotta tell ya…I was scared. I mean Sam's timing…" Ed grimaces as his body tries to shift, the light gauze padding on his stomach now dotted with a fresh smattering of blood.

"He really needs to lie still," the medic lightly scolds, making Ed frown as he slumps back into his original position.

"I hope Troy didn't go easy on him," Ed remarks with a tired sigh.

"He arrested him Ed Lane style," Greg smirks. "Just rest Eddie. Just rest now."

XXXXXXXX

"Micks is one seriously messed up guy…" Sam mutters as he too offers a grimace as the medic continues to clean around the wound on his leg.

"Was too close this time Sam," Jules whispers as she looks down at him in concern. "Way too close."

"I know," Sam huffs as he closes his eyes for a few moments. "If I didn't hate amusement parks before I sure do now…and clowns," he states with some sarcasm, opening his eyes to see her look down with a frown and nod. Her hand snakes into his and gives is a warm and comforting squeeze. They finally pull up into the Emergency bays of the hospital, Sam wheeled directly into an ER operating room to remove the bullet from his leg and patch up his side; Ed being taken to another so that he could be stitched up as well; both of them spending the night for rest and observation.

"Welcome," Sam greets Ed as they wheel the temporary transport to the bed beside Sam's and gently help Ed onto the fresh sheets.

"Hate hospitals," Ed grumbles as Sophie, Clark, Izzy and Jules enter; followed by Greg, Raf and Spike. Greg, Spike and Raf all spend a few minutes with both Ed and Sam, being happily assured by their fallen team members and the doctors that both men only looked worse, their wounds wouldn't take too long to heal. The next hour, Sophie and Clark spend with Ed at his bedside, Jules at Sam's the curtain between drawn so that each family unit could have their privacy if wanted. Jules taking Izzy for a time during the course of the visit and neither of them mentioning the clown incident in detail.

Finally after both families were done their visiting, Ed and Sam are left alone in the quiet room, the curtain pulled back so they could talk if they wanted.

"I hope you don't snore," Sam teases just as Ed looks over at him with a heavy frown. "What? I'm a light sleeper. Blame the military."

"I don't snore," Ed insists, looking at Sam's bandaged leg. "Was the bullet inside?"

"No it went in diagonally and exited out the back without breaking the bone."

"Lucky."

"I know. Can't imagine being stuck at home watching game shows all day long," Sam groans as Ed's lips offer a small chuckle.

"Or worse – soaps," Ed adds.

"Hot call at the Braddock residence. Shots fired at the big screen TV," Sam offers, making Ed smirk and then wince.

"Poor big screen TV," they both lament at once. "You okay?" Sam asks Ed in concern.

"Won't be doing many sit-ups for a bit. The rest is surface scrapes and stuff. I'll be okay. How's your side?"

"Maybe we should start comparing scars?" Sam chuckles as he leans back on his pillow and lets out a heavy sigh. "Micks…damn that guy. Seriously twisted."

"Yeah," Ed agrees softly as he tries to shift himself in bed, uttering an angry curse and wince. "I hate this small bed. Damn there goes the button again," Ed groans as the nurse comes hurrying into the room. "It's nothing. I'm fine…I'm fine," Ed growls sending her back out.

"You know if you move to much they might call for the restraints," Sam teases, making Ed look at him with a cross expression. "Just sayin'."

"Don't see why I had to stay here tonight. You were shot…its different," Ed huffs as he looks down at the wrappings around his belly before slumping back in weary defeat. "I coulda went home."

"Your stomach was sliced open Ed."

"It was a small cut and it wasn't that bad," Ed counters his argument. "I woulda just went home and rested."

"Yeah right. You woulda went into work tomorrow."

"I can just as easily sit around there," Ed tries to reason, making Sam roll his eyes.

"Give it up team leader. You lost this round."

"Funny. At least Jules didn't give you the third degree."

"So that's what Clark was teasing you about? Being grounded from watching the game," Sam starts with a teasing grin.

"You heard that?" Ed asks in shock.

"Course," Sam replies with a firm nod. "Sophie…she runs a tight ship."

"Wait until you two have a family," Ed states triumphantly as he tries to shift his large frame to a better spot on the small bed. "Seriously hate this bed," he grumbles making Sam laugh.

"Are you tired?"

"I'm too tired to walk, if that's what you're asking," Ed replies in haste.

"Definitely tired of walking," Sam agrees as he reaches for the TV remote. "I meant do you wanna watch TV?"

"Sam…"

"What? You're seriously tired? Gettin' soft in your old age? Its only eight PM."

"Fine, what's on?"

"Night at the fun house?" Sam reads the menu title for a B-horror flick.

"Yeah pass," Ed utters in haste, making Sam smile.

"How about…Saw? Definitely pass. Ha…wipeout," Sam snickers as the TV comes to life, displaying the over the top, wacky contestant, obstacle show in living color. "Okay that guy's…not gonna make it."

"Check out the twins in green," Ed chuckles as he points to the two guys dancing around. "This hasta be scripted."

"Its reality TV," Sam deadpans.

"So?"

"Reality TV isn't scripted."

"It's scripted."

The two of them watch and talk a bit longer before it goes quiet, prompting Sam to look over and notices Ed's eyes are closed, lips slightly parted, Sam's mind thankful he isn't snoring. Sam turns off the TV and then flips off his own overhead light. As he lies back in the darkness he knows that just because they managed to temporarily put Micks out of business; that he would be back, angrier than ever. But would his attention just go back to his business? Or would he make it personal again? Whichever it would be, Sam as well as Ed knows that they'd be ready, Harvey Micks would never win – not on their watch.

"Night Ed," Sam whispers before he too sucumbs to the darkness, preparing for the long night ahead.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay so I had originally planned to leave it there but am gonna add a 5th chapter as a kind of epilogue/wrap up and hope that's okay. Please do review before you go as I would love your thoughts on their angsty rescue and somewhat restful recovery and thanks so much in advance!

**PS:** To those of you awaiting Ida's return...its up next so stay tuned :)


	5. Back to Business Epilogue

**Title: The Business of Revenge  
****Chapter 5 – Back to Business (Epilogue)**

* * *

As suspected, Ed's night is tormented and broken by nightmares of him helplessly strapped to the thick wooden platform as the blade swings back and forth; no help coming. Just before it can slice right through, his eyes snap open, his breathing quickens and forehead and chest dampen further.

"Damn this," Ed frowns as he blinks several times, once again fully awake. He hears a small grunt and twists his head to see Sam's bed empty, the bathroom door open and the light on. Deciding to leave Sam to his privacy, Ed tries to settle back into his uncomfortable bed, trying to turn onto his side, but his healing mid-section yelling at him to remain on his back or else.

"Damn this bed," Ed curses again, his thoughts, however, cut short as he hears Sam throw up. Fatherly concern pulls him from his bed, his steps toward the bathroom slow but deliberate. "Sam?" Ed softly calls out, not wanting to startle his friend and fellow team member.

"Ed…yeah…" Sam huffs as he looks up with a flushed faced and watery eyes. "Sorry…did I wake you?"

"No. I hate hospitals," Ed remarks dryly. "You okay?"

"Peachy," Sam grumbles as he reaches for a small paper cup, taking a sip from the cold running water, rinsing his mouth and then dousing his face with the cooling liquid. "Just bile…damn nightmares," he grumbles as he flushes the watery bile down the toilet and then tries to straighten up to face Ed, preparing to leave.

"Why not just sit for a few minutes," Ed instructs as he gestures for Sam to sit on closed toilet lid. "It's cooler in here."

"Was so real," Sam mutters as he runs a hand through his short, damp blond hair, mussing the top and making Ed slightly smirk.

"I know," Ed yawns as he rubs his rough cheeks, "I keep seeing myself about to be cut in half before I wake up."

"I'm on a roller coaster at the top of the CN tower in a free-fall…without a safety net," Sam laments.

"Ouch," Ed screws up his face before he frowns. "Well at least we finally got Micks on something substantial."

"You really think it'll stick?"

"With what Troy and Spike found? Yeah for at least a few years. Oh am sure he'll make some kind of deal though, he's got enough money to at least try."

"Too bad he didn't resist arrest," Sam grumbles, making Ed nod in agreement. "How are you feeling?"

"Agitated. That damn bed's too small and I can't turn onto my side without pulling the damn stiches," Ed groans in reply making Sam look up with a weak smile. But as Ed turns around too fast, the warmth in the room catches the dizziness that's already starting to grow, making him stumble and Sam quickly stand up and grab his uninjured arm.

"Ed…"

"Just tired," Ed laments as he allows Sam to slowly help him limp back to bed. "And dizzy."

"So much for either of us going in tomorrow."

"I'm not staying home," Ed protests as he slowly eases himself down onto the cramped bed and then looks up at Sam with a weary expression. "Okay fine, so my leg hurts…my head hurts…my stomach hurts…"

"Your arm," Sam interjects.

"My arm hurts…"

"And you don't wanna stay home?" Sam smirks

"I wasn't shot," Ed fires back with a soft curl of his lips making Sam look at him with an amused expression before he turns and slowly heads back to his bed and eases down with a weary grunt.

"Well I can shoot you if you really want an excuse."

"Gee thanks," Ed deadpans as Sam lightly laughs. "I kept seeing my kids…Sophie…was too close," Ed huffs as he rubs his face and then tries to lie back down.

"Family…yeah," Sam half whispers, making Ed look over at him in wonder.

"Yeah…what? What's goin' on Sam?"

"The less family you have the less to worry about right?"

"The less to come home to at night," Ed correctly reminds him. "Every job has its risks Sam. Family's worth it though."

"Yeah…" Sam mutters as he slowly slides back under the covers, his arms folded under his head, his gaze straight up. He looks over and locks eyes with Ed's wondering gaze; two sets of sapphire pools locked in concern. "I just sometimes have doubts. Jules…she wants a family…someday."

"Well that's between you two but family…when the going gets tough…when there are days that just push you past your normal limit…family brings you back. They keep me grounded."

"Yeah you're lucky that way…"

As much as Ed feels the urge inside to ask if Sam has doubts about his future with Jules, he shelves it; that would be between Sam and Jules to figure out, it wasn't his place to push either way. But watching his friend and fellow team member fall apart over sentimentality wasn't something he's prepared to do.

"Well as you know Sophie and I have had our ups and our downs…it comes with the job. But you work through it together, see what's worth fighting for and what you can let go and then make it work."

"You make it sound so simple," Sam sighs as he turns back and looks up at the darkened ceiling once more. "This place really isn't that clean," Sam mutters, making Ed's lips offer a small snicker.

"It's not simple, but if you want it enough, you'll make it work."

"Copy that," Sam replies with a soft smirk, making Ed smile before he reaches up and tries to turn off his light. The stitching on his stomach slightly stretches, forcing him to pull back and utter a small gasp of pain.

"I can call the nurse."

"I can turn off my own damn light," Ed growls as he reaches up, pushing the small button with added angry force and then pulling back, hearing Sam snicker and utter a _poor Sophie _comment in the dimly lit room. "Hate hospitals," Ed mutters as Sam nods in silent agreement.

"Hey at least this isn't a field hospital."

"Can't imagine one of those," Ed answers.

"You don't want to. There was this one fight that was particularly nasty, Matt and I…" Sam's voice trails off into his rather sordid war story, Ed listening until he was too tired to keep up the awake pretense and slips back into the dark realm of sleep; Sam following suit a few moments later.

Morning comes all to early, Sam's voice picking up some frustrated words, his brain forcing his sleepy eyes to push open and then blink a few times in Ed's direction.

"I don't want breakfast, I'm not staying," Ed grumbles as Sam offers him a sleepy smile.

"Time to get the restraints out big guy," Sam teases as the nurse named Alice takes her leave, merely shaking her head at her stubborn patient.

"I can eat breakfast at home. Besides these damn things are starting to itch," Ed grumbles as his fingers lightly toy with the stitching on his stomach. "Jules coming to pick you up or can we give you a ride home?"

"She'll probably tell me to suck it up and take the bus," Sam lightly laughs.

"Ah trust me am sure she's just as concerned as Sophie, only Sophie didn't take the how to keep your emotions calm under extreme pressure training," Ed smiles.

"Yeah Jules poker face is pretty scary," Sam states with a hint of pride. "But…I guess I'll be eating soup out of a can all day," he groans as his body stretches before he slowly sits up and then tries to stand.

"How's the leg?"

"Tired of being here."

"I year ya," Ed slumps back down onto his pillow and then looks up as Sam slowly limps toward the bathroom and closes the door. The night before had been rough, but the day ahead promised both of them just resting up, the ensuing weekend would work to ensure that come Monday, both would be ready for light duty once again.

"Okay Mr. Lane, what's this someone mentioned about restraints," the Doctor mentions with a serious expression as he walks up to Ed's bed; Sam laughing from behind the closed bathroom door.

"Funny," Ed sighs. "When can I leave this place?"

"Well…let me take a look at those stitches and see who you survived the night," the doctor utters with a friendly tone. About half hour later, both Ed and Sam had taken turns using the bathroom, getting dressed and then signing their release papers; slowly heading downstairs to where Sophie was coming to pick them up.

"You sure you don't wanna come over and…do whatever. I don't mind Sam, really I don't. I'm just gonna…"

"Relax? Maybe I should to make sure you do."

"Oh and you'd do only that in your apartment?"

"Yeah," Sam shrugs.

"Well at least my place has real food."

"Hey Chef Boyardee is…" Sam's voice ends in a small laugh when Ed's face screws up. "Okay so we all can't be married to gourmet caterers now can we?"

"Nope," Ed shrugs and then smiles as his wife arrives on time.

"Hope you didn't give the staff too much trouble," Sophie looks at Ed with an arched brow.

"Me?" Ed frowns as he looks at Sam sharply, Sam's face holding back a small smile before he climbs in the back beside Izzy's car seat. "Sam's coming to our place for a few hours."

"More company for Izzy," Sophie remarks as she looks back at Sam who had taken a toy and was teasing the smiling little girl with it; the little girl giggling in return.

"Maybe the other way around," Ed retorts as they pull away from the ER entrance and head for Ed's home. Ed keeps the banter light and friendly around his wife, Sam noting the way his team leader skillfully negotiates around the tense topic of the man that had kidnapped them and what his current fate is, steering the discussion back to the terrible hospital food and what a few days of actual rest might produce. _Balance Sam…that's key, _Ed had told him a few hours earlier.

"Can I trust you two to behave for a few hours while I'm gone?" Sophie asks tongue in cheek.

"Course," Ed insists as he plucks his darling daughter from her car seat and him and Sam head inside.

"Smells good in here," Sam quickly notes as they head for the kitchen where Sophie had left them some breakfast items. "Seriously you come home to this every day?"

"Most days," Ed replies as if it's odd not to. "Don't you?" He teases, making Sam shake his head.

"Chef Boyardee, remember?"

"Ah."

The two of them take out the breakfast items, warming up the pancakes and sausage, Ed making the coffee and toast and Sam making the scrambled eggs; Izzy happily in her chair, gumming a teething ring and watching the two adult men with rapt fascination.

With Sophie not within ear shot, Harvey Micks name is brought up, the two of them dissecting the call from the very start; Spike and Greg having given them the rest of the details. The dummies, the sniper, the rigged elevator, the word scorpio, the dead decoy at the apartment, the utility workers, trucks, stadium route, Spike's use of the word Amusement and then of course the tense, down to the wire rescue.

"Now that was premeditated. At least Troy found the few emails that Micks had kept. Still…he has a long reach," Sam muses.

"The rest Wordy's team can deal with. I know they've been looking to permanently put Micks outta business and can add a few more goodies onto the actual arrest warrant," Ed explains as he leans back in his chair and sips his coffee, reaching for the bottle of hospital grade Tylenol and downing two.

"You know those are pretty strong right?"

"Have a strong headache," Ed frowns as he looks over at his sleeping daughter. "Well…I say we clean up and then just relax."

"Got any good movies?"

"Check the living room, Clark mostly picks them out."

"You let him?"

"For the most part. Hey it's better than Sophie's choice of sappy chick flicks."

"See I'm glad Jules isn't a sappy chick flick kinda gal."

"Yeah? What's she like?"

"The Expendables," Sam replies with a small laugh. "She's always mumbling to the guys on how to use their guns properly. Imagine her going up against Stallone?"

"I can see that," Ed answers with a smile. "Whatever you pick, I'll watch. I just need…"

"To sit down. I hear ya."

The two of them clean up the dishes and then head into the living room, Izzy still asleep in her chair in the kitchen; Ed not wanting to disturb her until she wakes up. "What'd ya find?"

"Fast and the Furious 5? Fast 5? Ed really?" Sam snickers as Ed rolls his eyes.

"Clark picked that out."

"Yeah sure he did," Sam goads a bit more as he prepares to put in the DVD.

"What? No way…pick something else."

"Did you see it?"

"No," Ed retorts.

"Well I haven't seen this one either."

"You saw the other four?"

"You haven't?" Sam argues back with a friendly tone but carries on, grabbing the remote and plunking himself down on the other couch and stretching out the same as Ed. Ed makes a few comments about the cheesy action, Sam shushing him at one time during an actual conversation scene; Ed just laughing and falling back into rest mode. As suspected, Ed losses the battle thanks to the strong painkillers and falls asleep, leaving Sam to turn down the volume but watch the rest and then flip off the TV and also fall into sleep.

A few hours later, Izzy's soft cries pull Ed from his sleep, his hearing trained to pick up her cries and beckon to her side. He quietly leaves the living room, Sam still asleep on the couch and heads into the kitchen, picking up his fussing daughter who instantly subsides in her father's comforting arms. Ed slowly carries her upstairs, careful to not tear or rip the stitching on his stomach, fearing the doctor's reprimand and another trip to the hospital. By the time Ed has changed his daughter and brought her back downstairs, Sam's up and watching Ed reenter the living room.

"Did we wake her?" He asks in concern.

"No. It was time for her to get up," Ed explains as he puts her into her floor pen. "Normally I'd leave her out but…"

"Chasing after her in your condition isn't going to happen right?"

"Exactly," Ed replies as Izzy's fingers grab the Fast 5 DVD case.

"Hey I think she wants a repeat."

"No way," Ed grabs the empty case from her tiny fingers and tosses it to Sam. "She doesn't need to see that at this age. I'll put in some Blues Clues."

"What? Blues...clu..." Sam laughs as Ed shoots him a warning glare. "Hey…Blues Clues it is."

Ed puts in the cartoon DVD and sinks back into the well worn sofa, looking at Sam with a heavy frown.

"You okay?"

"Bored."

"I hear ya. How's the stitching?"

"Well I haven't pulled any yet so that's a good thing I guess," Ed huffs as his phone buzzes to life. "Sophie wants to know if you and Jules wanna stay for dinner?"

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

"Sure," Sam agrees in haste, Ed smirking as he texts back and then lets Sam text Jules the dinner invitation. The rest of the afternoon is spent with them talking about work and life, watching and playing with Izzy and then sleeping as soon as she closed her eyes to get some sleep also.

"I'm home," Sophie calls out a few hours later, Izzy still asleep and Ed and Sam both starting to stir. "You two survive in here?"

"Barely," Ed grumbles as he rubs his face. "About to go postal from boredom."

"Hot call at the Lane household," Sam smiles as Sophie enters. "Jules will be here in about an hour. Is that okay?"

"Sure. Used to that," she answers, looking directly at Ed who shrugs in agreement. Sam remains in the living room with Izzy as Ed picks up a light bag and follows after Sophie into the kitchen, helping her with supper and listening to her somewhat eventful day. Jules finally arrives, asking if she can do anything to help but is told to just relax in the living room with Sam; Clark coming home from school, saying his token hello's before disappearing into his room before dinner.

"Tough day?"

"Probably more so for you," Jules replies as her fingers gently fondle the outline of Sam's rough cheek. "You didn't shave."

"I was here all day. Not like Ed and I had a grooming party," he replies with a small smirk, making her smile. "Any fallout from Micks?"

"Just the usual chatter. It wasn't him…he was framed by one of his men…wrong place wrong time. Wordy's team is working on it so we were told to not worry about it and that was it."

"Not worry about it?"

"Okay so he said it tongue in cheek," Jules retorts with a small eye roll. "How was today?"

"Tormented," Sam groans. "We're both bored. But neither of us broke our stitching so…"

"So no wrestling then," she teases.

"I'd like to wrestle you," he lightly flirts as Ed quietly enters.

"Just not in my living room," Ed finally makes himself known, smiling as both look up with sheepish smiles. "Dinner's ready," tells them as he goes to call Clark. Within minutes, the small group is packed around the Lane dining room table, enjoying their dinner; professional talk once again on hold as per Ed's unspoken rules. Sam and Jules find the dinner hour to be enjoyable and light hearted, no tension or anxiety; each of them taking note of what makes a long time marriage work and a seeming success.

"Thanks again," Jules thanks Sophie as her and Sam prepare to leave for the night.

"See you both Monday," Ed tells his two fellow team members.

"You're gonna watch Fast 5 tonight as soon as we leave, right?" Sam teases.

"Really dad, you wanna watch?" Clark asks with a broad grin.

"Truck duty for Sam on Monday," Ed warns with a small smile, making Sam chuckle before he takes his leave.

"So that's what you guys watched today?" Jules inquires as they slowly head toward her Jeep.

"Yeah that and Blues Clues."

"Wow…talk about variety," she smirks as they get in. "Now I'll know what DVD to buy next."

"Funny," Sam deadpans. "Was a nice dinner."

"Yeah. You know what I think they do well…" Jules starts into her observations as they head for her home, Sam spending the night with her so that he wouldn't have to worry about tearing his stitching and wanting to get as much sympathy attention in during the weekend as possible. Come Monday it would be back to business.

"How are you feeling?" Sophie asks as she watches Ed slowly crawl into bed.

"These damn things are starting to itch again but that's it. Just tired of being…bored and tired," he replies with a heavy sigh.

"You needed the rest."

"I know I did. I guess that's the plan for the rest of the weekend," he states with a rather glum tone.

"Trust me, I'm sure we can find a few fun things to do. Now…how was Izzy?"

XXXXXXXX

"Eddie…" Greg greets his team leader early Monday morning. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Ed admits in truth. "The stitching should come out in another few days and then…back to normal."

"And Sam? How's his leg?"

"Fine, I guess," Ed shrugs as he looks at the time. "Am sure he'll be in today. Trust me boss, a few more days and he woulda been right…hot call at the Lane household."

"Yeah can't really see you as the stay at home dad type."

"No way," Ed shakes his head. "So…any news?"

"His parole hearing is today and then Wordy will let us know. He's outta business for now, but…"

"I know…it's not our call anymore. I get that…just wanna know what to expect."

"Wordy said as soon as he knows, you're the first guy he's gonna call, so my friend…we got it covered," Greg smiles at Ed before he frowns.

"What?" Ed asks in haste.

"Was too close this time."

"I know…I know," Ed agrees as he leans back in his chair, looking up as Sam and Jules enter and head toward them. "At least…he's given us a glimpse of what he's really capable of."

"And that…always helps," Greg nods as the rest of team one enters the meeting room.

"You survived," Sam looks at Ed and smiles as he sits down beside him.

"How's the leg?"

"Anything but a heated pursuit and it'll hold."

"How about we put Sam and Ed in the truck and have me as Sierra one today?" Spike pipes up, making Ed and Sam both glare at him at once. "Or…not."

"And I'll be Sierra Two," Raf joins in.

"Oye," Jules mutters.

"How about we put…" Sam starts as a retort.

"How about we start the meeting and leave the assignment signing to the guy in charge," Greg smirks as the rest of the team fills the room with a bout of warm laughter. Ed looks over at Sam and offers a small frown, an unspoken question about how he's feeling. Sam nods back and then slightly cocks his head, indicating the same in return. Ed also nods in return and then both go back to listening to Greg's early morning dissertation.

"You sure you didn't want to stay home one more day?" Sam lightly teases Ed as they reach the door at the same time.

"Hardly. You?"

"No way."

"Okay then le…"

"Let's go keep the peace," Sam interrupts in a cheeky tone, drawing a raised brow glance from Ed, but nothing more as Winnie's voice comes over the loudspeaker with a 'hot call' announcement. Ed merely smirks and shakes his head as he hurries after Sam to get prepared. The past few days' ordeal and recovery had helped to cement their bonds of friendship and give a deeper insight into the personality and lives of the other, but always forcing them to realize that anything they hold dear – their lives included could be taken just like that.

"Alright team one...let's go!" Ed calls out as team one is taken away from Winnie's view – back to business for Team One.

**THE END!**

* * *

**A/N:** Okay now we have come to the end! *grin* well I did owe our boys some downtime after all that right? I want to thank you all for reading and hope you liked this conclusion to this perilous little ficlet and please do leave me a final review before you go and thanks so much in advance!


End file.
